BSD Staff Updates

Greetings BSD staff.

Having started with the Bremerton School District on August 27, I've not had the chance to meet many of you so I want to start off my first Staff Update newsletter with a quick introduction.

I'm the district's new Director of Communication and Community Engagement. I have worked in the communications field for 24+ years for both government and non-profit agencies, as well as private industry. I'm excited to put my experience to work for the Bremerton School District. I live in Bremerton and have two children at Crownhill. I also consider myself one of Bremerton's biggest cheerleaders - I love this community.

My appreciation for education and the work you all do runs deep. My husband is a teacher and coach in the North Mason School District. My mom was a teacher and later a special ed para-educator. One of my grandpas was a music teacher and the other drove school bus and served on the school board in my home town. And my mother-in-law was a school cook and my father-in-law was a school custodian!

I am excited to be a part of the BSD family. Thanks for all you do!

Sincerely,

Karen Bevers

Karen.Bevers@BremertonSchools.org

360-473-1014 - direct

Patty Heuer did a great job with the Staff Memo, but as you know, she retired last year. As you may have noticed, the Staff Memo has been on a bit of a hiatus during the transition of the communications team here at the District Office. Thank you for your patience.

The Staff Memo is evolving - here is what you can expect moving forward.

• Staff Updates: I will be sending out these Staff Updates via email 1-2x/month (or more often if needed).
• Staff Bulletin Board: The Staff Updates will not include personal announcements (such as items for sale). That information will be posted on a new Staff Bulletin Board in the staff section of the website. Cindi Probst is helping me with web edits and will be managing the Staff Bulletin Board (Thank you Cindi!)
• Board meeting highlights: Board highlights, compiled by Board Secretary Ioanna Cossack, will be included in the Staff Memo after every meeting. Full meeting notes and other documents are available on the BoardDocs website.
• Board Policy Updates: Per Policy 1310P, the District must distribute policy and procedure updates to all BSD staff via e-mail. These policy and procedure updates will be included in the Board Highlights section of this Staff Updates newsletter.
• Community E-Newsletter: I will be producing a parent/community electronic newsletter that staff will also receive via email.

Please note: there may be occasions where information is included in both the Staff Updates newsletter and the Community E-Newsletter and/or on social media and our website.

If you have submissions or ideas for the Staff Update, Community E-Newsletter, website or social media, please submit them to Karen.Bevers@BremertonSchools.org.

If you have items for the staff bulletin board, please provide the information as a Word Document, JPG or PDF to Lucinda.Probst@BremertonSchools.org.

Dr. Aaron Leavell was the guest speaker at the Bremerton Central Lion's Club Meeting last month. He thanked the Club for their support of the District and of West Sound Tech, which was the beneficiary of their recent fundraiser. The Lions are a great community partner!

More information >>>

FYI: On Friday, 11/9, families and staff may have received duplicate "robo calls" or emails about winter weather procedures sent via School Messenger. We have identified the issue, and posted an apology on the website and on Facebook for any frustration caused. These calls are unrelated to the "spoofing" calls referenced above.

As you may have seen in The Kitsap Sun, The Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA) has named the Bremerton School District Board as a Board of Distinction for medium-sized school districts. Learn more >>>

Compiled by Ioanna Cossack, Board Secretary

The Board recognized Inspirus Credit Union for their donations for our back-to-school fair in August and the $5,000 donation they have already made toward next year’s event.

The Consent Agenda was approved. The long list of items included the annual Highly Capable Application, an extension on the WA Youth Academy Agreement, and many Professional Development contracts (with Academic & Behavioral Consultation, It’s All 1 Luv LLC, and Kareen Borders, as well as a new agreement with the OESD for a preschool at Armin Jahr Elementary to serve Deaf and Hard of Hearing students.).

Ms. Miaoxing Pan filled in for our Student Representative and reported on a lot of great stuff happening at Bremerton High School. Several other ASB officers joined her and shared their goals for 2018/19 with the Board (see photo above).

The Board approved a 3-year working agreement with the Bremerton Professional Education Assn (BPEA), which included a revised salary schedule that adjusts over each of the three years. District office and the Board thanked everyone who participated on the negotiating team.

The Board held a study session with secondary school administrators to discuss this year’s Comprehensive School Improvement Plans. The Board really enjoys the opportunity to sit down with principals and assistant principals to review goals and challenges and be able to ask questions. This 1-1/2 hour discussion encompasses a lot of hard work done by our administrators and staff throughout the year focusing on student achievement.

During Board Reports, President Rotter shared that she attended a community event, Project Beauty Beast, which was a documentary that highlighted sensitive teen issues like suicide, body shame, and self-harm. She also thanked the Kitsap Fire Fighters Benevolent Fund – they are once again providing coats for students in our district. This year they will be distributed at Kitsap Lake Elementary on November 28th at 10:30 am. She also wanted to try and get the word out, particularly to our high school students, that The Kitsap County Council for Human Rights is holding their annual conference this year, December 7th, at Olympic College. The theme this year is Building Community in a Polarized World: Celebrating our Togetherness.

2020 Capital Levy: The Board approved moving forward to put a new one-year Capital Levy on the ballot this February 2019. The proposed Levy amount is $7,675,000. Besides asset preservation, another priority is safety and security in our buildings.

BOARD POLICY UPDATE: The Board adopted revised Policy 4130, Title 1 Parent Involvement, on second read. Additionally, new procedures were presented for 3240P; Student Conduct and Reasonable Sanctions.

The Board approved Superintendent and Board goals for 2018-19. These goals are formulated to guide effective Board governance.

The 2019-2020 School Academic Calendar was approved (to be distributed soon).

Next week, Dr. Leavell and the Board, along with their student representative, Isabella, will be attending the WSSDA Conference. They will be honored during a luncheon for their recent selection as a Board of Distinction (Washington State School Directors Association).

You can find these reports, other attachments, and more information on the BoardDocs website.

Tacoma Rainiers Field Trip Opportunity: The Tacoma Rainiers host Field Trip Days which take place during daytime games during the school year. This year the Field Trip Days are:

• Monday, April 15th at 11:35am
  
• Wed, May 22nd at 11:35am
  
• Monday, June 10th at 11:35am

If you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity, please contact Hayley Hacker, Group Event Coordinator at (253) 722-2087 or HTamagni@WeRTacoma.com.

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Discovering your Capacity for Resiliency: Recently, Dr. Philip Mathew, lead faculty for Olympic College’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership and Technical Management, gave a presentation about resiliency called "Stronger in the Broken Places" as a part of the Olympic College Alumni Speaker Series. Check out the video here.

The next presentation in this series is December 1 and will feature "Promised Land,” a social justice documentary that follows two tribes in the Pacific Northwest: the Duwamish and the Chinook, as they fight for the restoration of treaty rights they’ve long been denied.

Learn more about the OC Alumni Speaker series at https://www.olympic.edu.

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Website: www.bremertonschools.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BremertonSchools/
Twitter: @BremertonSD

Staff Updates 2018-19 issue #1. Distributed November 29, 2018.