District Dialogue

In May 2023, the Sioux Falls School District learned about a grant opportunity offered by the SD Department of Education to target chronic absenteeism. A group of building administrators met in early June to develop a proposal and in July, SFSD was awarded $1.5 Million over three years to combat the problem at four elementary schools and two middle schools. The bulk of the grant allows SFSD to hire 6 Attendance Liasions who will develop relationships with families and students, identify and eliminate barriers preventing school attendance, organize transportation, and connect families with community resources. Liaisons will also provide some academic recovery at the middle schools, as well. The six schools involved in the grant are: Garfield, Hayward, Hawthorn, and Terry Redlin Elementary Schools. The middle schools receiving support from the grant are George McGovern and Whittier Middle Schools.

Click below to view the full report.

Welcome back to the second week of the 2023-24 school year! A reminder that there is no school Friday, September 1st through Monday, September 4th. We hope you have an enjoyable long Labor Day weekend!

Architecture Incorporated established an annual grant program to award multiple worthy K-12 educators with a total of $5,000 in funding to help their students thrive and succeed. We are seeking out-of-the-box ideas of all sizes to address teachers' challenges and encourage ingenuity in education. The grant was named to align with our core values of Creative Solutions and Proven Service.

To be eligible, you must be a teacher in the state of South Dakota or within 100 miles of Sioux Falls or Rapid City. Grant applications can be for any amount up to $5,000, but the money should be used for this school year. Grant materials can be used in a classroom, across a grade level, throughout a building, or district-wide, but cannot be for food.

In an effort to remove any bias, the applicant's name and school district will be excluded prior to judging. The grant applications will be judged on the following criteria:

• Clearly and concisely written
• Enhances curriculum or teaching standards
• The need/rationale is explained
• There are clearly defined outcomes/benefits
• The requested grant funds are specified and supported
• It will have a positive impact on the community
• Are there other funding avenues available?

Applications will be accepted through Friday, September 1, 2023, and recipients will be awarded in September.

Calling all area teachers, including childcare providers — the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation wants to help bring your innovative ideas for classroom projects to life through our Excellence in Education grantmaking initiative. Classroom teachers from all grade levels in Lincoln, McCook, Minnehaha, and Turner counties are eligible to apply for classroom grants.

Now in its 32nd year, the Excellence in Education initiative offers grants to teachers who have creative and innovative ideas for classroom projects. Since the program began, hundreds of programs and activities designed by teachers throughout the Sioux Falls area have received grant funding, enriching educational experiences for students.

Proposals must be received by midnight on Saturday, September 30th, 2023.

Please consider dropping a note to thank our sponsors for the “Cultivate” tshirts provided to reinforce this year’s theme. Architecture Incorporated has generously sponsored tshirts for staff since 2006. That’s a stellar commitment from a community partner – especially recently. As a consumer, you know prices have increased dramatically on some items. Cotton is one of them, so they enlisted the help of other contractors to divide the cost. Please don’t overlook their generosity.

Architecture Incorporated

Attn: Holly Haberman

415 S Main Ave.

Sioux Falls, SD 57104

Sayre Associates, Inc.

216 S. Duluth Ave.

Sioux Falls, SD 57104

Associated Consulting Engineering, Inc.

340 S. Phillips Ave.

Sioux Falls, SD 57104

Structural Engineering Associates, Inc.

Please find time to thank these folks who are not obligated… but who willingly partner with SFSD because they appreciate you! The remaining tshirts will be available at IPC through the end of this week.

The first SFSD All Star of the 2023-24 school year is Xavier Tatum!

Xavier has gone above and beyond the call of duty as an O.S Mechanic. He worked with Ben Schumacher recently to create some much-needed, overdue, and very helpful training videos. When asked, Xavier never hesitated to put himself in a unknown and never-done-before situation. These videos have been a great reminder and a helpful tool for all the custodial staff. Much of our equipment is used seasonally and these videos are a great refresher for staff who use this equipment. Xavier is always on-time and has a great attitude about getting any task asked of him done... even if it is not a pleasant one! Congratulations Xavier - you are an All Star!

Congratulations to the four winners of the Noise-Cancelling Headphones! Dr. Stavem received about 200 emails after the teacher training at the Pentagon. She dropped in for a surprise visit on Friday to deliver the prize to each winner.

As the school year is about to begin, this 3rd grade teacher at Hawthorne Elementary hasn't been away from the classroom for that long... it's just that her most recent classrooms were thousands of miles away. Lizzie Hansen has new perspectives, fresh ideas, and plans for giving back.

SHINE stands for Scholarship, Honors, Innovation, Networking and Exceptionalism. We’re looking for stories we can tell about high school seniors, any-age students, staff (yes, you can and should absolutely fill out this form for yourself!), projects and programs. Have a new partnership that is benefitting the classroom? Win a grant you think the world should know about? Get nominated for or receive a state-wide, regional or national honor? Know a senior stand-out on a team, in the fine arts arena, or in the classroom? How about younger students who are leading by example, making giving to charity a priority, or are making the most of a bad situation? Should a program or portion of your school be highlighted? What about some current projects: experiments, field trips, new collaborative lessons?

Send your suggestions today, and keep this in mind for the days, weeks and months ahead!

Imagine Solutions Conference is a nationally known thought leader conference that brings world-class visionaries to share ideas on today's most relevant issues. The conference offers an impressive speaker lineup in topics, such as Science and Technology, Biodiversity, Arts, and much more. We are excited to provide Sioux Falls School District teachers the opportunity to attend this year's conference virtually. Registered attendees will receive a link to the recorded videos in late May of 2023.

This is a small way that we can show our appreciation for all you do for our students.

• All registered teachers will be provided a link to the conference videos from the Sioux Falls School District in late May until October 15.


• Each video is approximately 19-25 minutes in length and can be viewed 24/7.


• All registered teachers qualify for 5 hours of professional development for registering and completing a brief survey after watching all of the videos.

New Employee Workshop

SDRS staff will be presenting several ZOOM sessions over the next few months to discuss important topics relevant to new SDRS members, including a brief overview of SDRS and the SDRS-SRP, the importance of designating beneficiaries and appointing custodians for minor children, the SDRS new member packet and ID card, and how to set up online access to MySDRS.

Register for one of the 45-minute Zoom sessions with SDRS!

September 11th - 4:15pm via Zoom:Register Here!

• Click the link below to register for Sand Creek EAP’s live webinars.

  • Wednesday, September 13th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Cultural Myths in Media: Fact or Fiction
  • Wednesday, October 11th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Empowering Your Influence
  • Wednesday, November 8th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Competent Leadership
  • Wednesday, December 13th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Personal Fitness for Life

• Do you have questions about your personal leave options, SEMS codes, and personal leave balances? If so, please see the attached“Personal and Wellness Day Leave Memo”for the 2023-24 school year!!
• Personal and Wellness Day Leave Memo for the 2023-24 School Year
• Do you have questions about which days in the 2023-24 school year are “restricted dates” for the use of personal leave? If so, please see the attached“No Meeting-No Personal Days Memo”for the 2023-24 school year!!
• No Meeting-No Personal Days Memo for the 2023-24 School Year
• Do you have questions about the Comp Days you will earn by working the fall and spring conferences? If so, please see the attached“Comp Days Memo”for the 2023-24 school year!!
• Comp Days Memo

As we gear up to kick off the 2023-2024 school year, be sure to take a second to complete these items:

Check Your License Renewal Date - Be sure to take a second to review the renewal date for your teaching/administrator license. Also be sure to review any requirements needed to renew to help you stay on top of it!

• Teacher Renewal:https://doe.sd.gov/certification/teachers.aspx
• Administrator Renewal:https://doe.sd.gov/certification/administrators.aspx

Review the South Dakota Code of Ethics for Professional Educators - Each time a Teacher or Administrator renews their license, they receive a link to the South Dakota Code of Ethics for Professional Educators. If you are unfamiliar with them, they are linked below:

• Teachers -https://sdlegislature.gov/Rules/Administrative/24:08:03
• Administrators -https://sdlegislature.gov/Rules/Administrative/24:11:03:01

Sioux Falls School District is inviting you to participate in Wondr, a digital health program helping people to lose weight and improve their whole health. And it’s available to you at no cost, if eligible.*

Looking for something simple to help you look and feel your best for the rest of your life? Wondr makes it easy for you. There are no strict diets, calorie counting, or exercise equipment needed. It's a straightforward, skills-based solution that provides simple, sustainable, life-long results.

Plus, the program’s available 24/7 through the mobile app and online community, WondrLink, where you can access curriculum and connect with online health coaches and participants anytime, anywhere.

Space is limited.

Learn more at https://www.wondrhealth.com/SFSD

Apply between 9/4/2023 – 9/17/2023

The program begins October 2nd!

As we start the 2023-24 school year, we wanted to take a moment to welcome all our new staff! We are SO glad all of you are here! Be sure to take a moment to stop and say hi to those new at your building.