Volume 2 | Issue 39 | May 18, 2018
June 11 & 12 Staff Development/Work Days
There will be a couple hours of district-dedicated time (including our picnic lunch) on June 12th. The remaining time of these two days will be allotted for work time and building needs. A detailed schedule will be provided in the May 25th e-Weekly.
Board Brief and Agenda
Board briefs are simple summaries of our board meetings. Without having to labor through or wait for the comprehensive board minutes, you can access what changes the board approved at each of their meetings! The latest board brief (for the May 14 meeting) has been posted. Check it out on the right sidebar of our Agendas & Minutes page. Interested in the items being considered at the next board meeting? Check out the board agenda for May 21 on the same page!
Season 2 Premiere of 13 Reasons Why
Please take a moment to read this letter regarding the Season 2 premiere of 13 Reasons Why.
Floating PD or May 25th Attendance
At this point, we should be fairly certain about who has accumulated Floating PD hours, and who will be reporting for the regularly scheduled Staff Development Day on May 25th. Please follow the steps outlined below to ensure that we are all on the same page:

  • If you have been recording hours of Floating PD on your own document, please submit the information to your building principal or supervising administrator NO LATER THAN Thursday, May 17th.
  • If you have planned for hours between May 17 and 24, STILL submit the information, and indicate any hours yet to be filled.
  • If you attended the evening Social and Emotional Learning session in January, Rene Freyer has documented your 2 hours of PD time. All other hours are to be recorded and submitted at the building level.
  • If you are reporting to work on May 25th, your Principal or administrator will touch base with you to clarify any expectations of the day.
  • Please direct any lingering questions to your Principal or administrator.
What's Happening With My License?
There have been major changes to educator licensing brought about by 2017 Act 59. The biggest change is the dropping of PDP work and credits toward renewal. There are no more credits or PDP work. At this point, the news is this:

  • Professional and Master Educator licenses will all be converted to a Lifetime license. DPI will take care of this. Educators need to do nothing.
  • Initial Educators must complete 6 ‘successful’ teaching semesters. Once Initial Educators have completed six ‘successful’ semesters, the employing school district will submit “something” (TBD) to notify DPI of this completion. The Initial license will then be converted to a Lifetime license. What determines “successful completion” will be defined by DPI (also TBD).
  • The six semesters are current/retroactive. For example, if you are currently in your fourth semester, you will need two more after this year. (Yes….6 semesters = 3 years, but DPI keeps using semesters as their definition, so we will stick with that for now.)
  • All educators will still need to complete background checks, and will be notified via email when this needs to be done. DPI anticipates that the cost of the background check will be less than the old cost of license renewal.
  • Please visit DPI’s Latest Licensing News for continuous updates.
Curriculum Database | Required Work by June 13
Please click the link below to access instructions to curriculum database work that needs to be completed by June 2018. There will be time allotted on June 11th and 12th to complete this work. Contact building principals or Lynn LeRoy with any questions.

Micro-Credential Information
Submission Deadline: May 15th
The final submission deadline for 2017-18 micro-credentials is May 15th*.  To submit your micro-credential please follow the instructions in this link: MC Submission Guidelines
*If you have Micro-Credentials that will not be completed in the 2017-18 school year, you will need to re-apply for those Micro-Credentials in October of 2018.

New Micro-Credential Opportunity in Early Literacy!
We have two new Micro-Credentials that are not yet included in the Micro-Credential Guidebook. They will be connected to Alverno’s Early Literacy Success courses 1 and 2. Please click the link below to access detailed information.
Educator Effectiveness End-of-Year
Please consult the EE checklists to view the timeline for End-of-Year reporting and other guidelines as they relate to your current status in the 3-year cycle. If observation schedules have fallen behind, your administrator will contact you as necessary to ensure that the process will be completed.

Are you in Supporting Year #2?
If you are in “Supporting Year #2”, please remember that you are required to complete one Learning Cycle with an Instructional Coach (Learning, Literacy, or Math). Most should be completed at this time, but if you have not yet met this obligation, please contact a Learning, Literacy, or Math coach ASAP.
HR Updates
Health News : Anthem now has a  LiveHealth Online for Kids ! This expansion of the LiveHealth Online offers parents who need to seek care for their children a better 24/7 experience. Visit LiveHealth online  to create your optional account. Check it out!
Whitnall Wellness
WHAT:   Daily Wellness Activities 
WHEN:  May 1st - May 30th    
WHAT WE DO:  Provide you with the  May Wellness Calendar
WHAT YOU DO:  Participate! (See guidelines at the bottom of the wellness activity calendar) Remember to submit to HR by noon on June 1st!

HOW TO EARN ENTRIES FOR REWARDS:
- Voluntary individual participation in daily wellness activities
- Encourage coworkers to participate in daily wellness activities
- Remember to write your name and building on your calendar when you submit

AWESOME REWARDS:
- EVERYONE who participates will receive a reward!!!
Employment Opportunities
Current employment vacancies at Whitnall are posted on   WECAN . 

Popcorn Sale
Do you love movie theater style popcorn but hate movie theater prices? Have we got a deal for you! At $1 a box, you can have fresh, hot, delicious popcorn delivered to your room/office every Thursday! It's popped by students in the transition program! Delivery time at the high school is during 7th hour. All other buildings at 1:30. If interested, please click this link , find your school sheet, add your name and room number, and mark the Thursday(s) that you would like your popcorn. Thanks for supporting our program!