Opening In-service
2014-2015
Subtitle – “Gee, that slide looks
familiar…”
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
APPLAUSE!
• Many thanks to Coach Seiler and Coach Kerwin and the
Trojan Booters, Male and Female!
New IT Provider - CAIU
• CAIU Technician In-House – Dennis Morgan
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Some messages about computing from Dennis, including
helpdesk@caiu.org
Opening Remarks
• Evan P. Williams, Superintendent
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Welcome
Our mission - to empower our students to be lifelong learners in
order to reach their greatest potential
Everyone wants students to achieve!
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“They send us the best they have.”
What is “Success”?
• Students and their parents must know what success looks
like, what it is, and how it is accomplished.
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Use rubrics so expectations and grading are clear.
• If we give kids a clear pathway to succeed, the grand
majority will do just that!
Grades and Grading
• Grade students on demonstrated learning. Try to avoid
“zeroes.”
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Certain kids will even request zeroes. In cases such as this, we
are grading the student’s sloth, not his or her achievement.
Try to insist on a demonstrated process achieving production
and give credit for it.
Character Initiatives “Character is who you are when no
one is looking.”
• A rephrasing of the following:
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“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one
is watching.”
John Wooden
Character Initiatives
• The Discovery Process – develop students’ character.
• Create a Discovery Process program in the UDA Middle
School yoked to a UDA Elementary School initiative.
• Ultimately, this will take form in UDA High School
The Future
• UDASD needs to completely assimilate the
Commonwealth’s initiatives. The important part is the
constructive use of data.
• “Make curriculum skill centered.” John Landis, Apple
• Elementary school gives students the skills and
foundation for content learning.
• Middle school refines those skills and begins the
assimilation of content and critical thinking.
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Project Based Learning –
UDA Leads
UDA Leads is a curricular program I named which is designed to give our
students the opportunity to explore in greater depth the world around them;
to create individual learning opportunities combining academics, community
services, and vocational experiences; to identify and investigate career
opportunities in the form of internships and apprenticeships.
UDA STEM Leads is the initial program in development to be followed by
UDA Arts Leads
UDA FBLA Leads
UDA Citizenship Leads
UDA Fitness Leads
UDA STEM Leads
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Through a commitment to STEM programs in concert with vocational
agriculture and career awareness, Upper Dauphin Area intends to enhance
its capacity for research and project driven learning in the secondary schools.
UDA intends to augment its computer stations so students may have more
opportunities for research, particularly in practical applications, like robotics,
hydroponics, aquaculture, biotechnology, and career awareness. Our
students live in a farming community, and through research and the act of
reporting on that research, authentic assessments, in writing and in
presentations, we wish to empower students to express themselves and
demonstrate their learning. The ability to thoroughly explore projects which
seek to analyze and improve rural living and productivity is an invaluable skill
for our students who go forth to join other communities and those who
return to improve this community.
What does this looks like?
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Students tie their various projects together and integrate completely
their work in the "hard" sciences with their projects in the "applied"
sciences.
For example, a chemistry teacher and a biology teacher will have the
opportunity to work with students on aquaculture projects, math
teachers will be able to work with construction trades and cabinetry
students on design, and a physics teacher will be able to work with
mechanics students on engine rebuilding.
Concentrations
• The UDA Leads framework will allow students to
concentrate in their areas of interest:
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Business, UDA FBLA Leads
Fine arts, performing arts, and the Humanities, UDA Arts
Leads
Community management, law, societal well-being, UDA
Citizenship Leads
Wellness, Health, and Fitness, UDA Fitness Leads
This may make scheduling more predictable!
We are taking what we already
successfully do to the next level.
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give our students the opportunity to explore in greater
depth the world around them;
• create individual learning opportunities combining
academics, community services, and vocational
experiences;
• identify and investigate career opportunities in the form
of internships and apprenticeships.
Introduction of New Teachers
• Adam Downing
• Kristen Quisenberry
• Tammy Osenga
• Cory Shade
• Brian Leiter
• Bob Miller
• Pam Lazar
UDAES
Kristen Quisenberry and Cory Shade
UDAMS
Adam Downing and Brian Leiter
UDAHS
Tammy Osenga and Bob Miller
UDASD district wide
• Pam Lazar
And a new Principal, again…
• Jared Shade
UDA Middle School
And a new/former Principal
• Dermot Garrett
UDA High School
And more help for the high school!
• Megan Shade
Magician
And teaching assistants and
personal care aides
Lisa Hoffman
Ruthanna Bordner
Erin Leach
Christina Teeter
New Food Service Supervisor and a
New IT Technician
Dennis was
too busy to
have his
picture
taken. Drat!
Jamie Shiko,
Nutrition Group
Employee Recognition
• First, thanks to the custodians and the secretaries for all
the work they have done over the summer to prepare the
buildings for the coming year,
• And, thanks to all our wonderful teacher assistants who
support our needier populations.
• Unfortunately, there are never enough words to honor all
the good things people do for the schools and the district.
District Goals, 2014-2015
Goal #1: Improve communications with the community, particularly parents
and school personnel, both in volume and effectiveness to enhance an
environment of mutual respect.
Goal #2: Use Student assessment data to support instructional decisionmaking.
Goal #3: Ensure the use of differentiated instruction at all grade levels to
maximize student learning as evidenced by increased active engagement.
The mission of our district is to empower our students to be lifelong
learners in order to reach their greatest potential.
Teacher Effectiveness System
Redux
• 50% of evaluation observation based on the Danielson
Framework
• 15% based on Building Level Data – PSSA, PVAAS,
Graduation, Promotion, Attendance, PSAT/SATs
• 15% Teacher Specific Data – PVAAS mostly, IEP, Locally
Developed Rubrics
• 20% Elective Data/SLOs – District designed measures,
National standardized tests, Industry certs, Student
projects and portfolios
And on!
• The observation system is what counts!
• Make sure you create an SLO which you can use!
• Each teacher will receive a binder including the
Framework congruent to Teachscape.
• Teachers should use their binders to collect examples of
the great things they do throughout the school year.
Legal Updates
• Responsibilities
• Title VII - Harassment
• Confidentiality Guidelines
USDE: Missions of all schools
• Schools will educate all students.
• Schools will provide a safe and orderly environment for all
students.
• Schools will protect the health, safety, and welfare of all
students and staff.
Therefore:
Decisions!
• Schools (teachers/administrators) actions may not be
arbitrary, capricious, or deliberately indifferent
• Avoid the appearance of
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Malfeasance - mal (evil) faire (to do)
Misfeasance - misdo; improper exercise of authority
Nonfeasance - omission of some act which ought to have been
done
Keep Yourself Safe!
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Are you aware? Child A has a knife.
If so, did you investigate? Question the student.
Did you make a decision? Call the principal.
Did you take appropriate action with no intent to harm the
child? Escort the child to the office: call parents and police.
Throughout the process, inform those who need to know! In
this sample, school authorities need to know, parents need to
know and so do the police, even if the parents refuse to allow
their child to be questioned by the police unless they are
present!
Avoid “Deliberate Indifference”
Defining the issue of Deliberate Indifference
• Being aware of a troubling situation and doing nothing
about it
• Being aware of a troubling situation and taking a totally
inappropriate action
Avoiding Deliberate Indifference
Complaints and Charges
• All complaints must be taken seriously
• Processes and procedures must be systematic, not event
driven
• Respond in a timely manner
• Keep detailed records and document every step taken
• Avoid making foolish statements
Harassment - defined in the
Pennsylvania Code
• ｧ 2709.
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Harassment.
(a) Offense defined.--A person commits the crime of
harassment when, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm
another, the person:
(1) strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise
subjects the other person to physical contact, or
attempts or threatens to do the same;
(2) follows the other person in or about a
public place or places;
(3) engages in a course of conduct or
repeatedly commits acts which serve no legitimate
purpose;
Continued…
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(4) communicates to or about such other
person any lewd, lascivious, threatening
or obscene words, language, drawings or
caricatures;
(5) communicates repeatedly
in an anonymous manner;
(6) communicates repeatedly
at extremely inconvenient hours; or
(7) communicates repeatedly
in a manner other than specified in
paragraphs (4), (5) and (6).
Title VII - Harassment
Title VII Coordinator – Mrs. Mary Bateman
• Harassment is a form of employment
discrimination that violates Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967,
(ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990, (ADA).
Defined
• Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is
based on race, color, sex, religion, national
origin, disability, and/or age. Harassment
becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the
offensive conduct becomes a condition of
continued employment, or 2) the conduct
is severe or pervasive enough to create a
work environment that a reasonable
person would consider intimidating,
hostile, or abusive.
Clarification
• Petty slights, annoyances, and isolated
incidents (unless extremely serious) will not
rise to the level of illegality. To be unlawful,
the conduct must create a work environment
that would be intimidating, hostile, or
offensive to a reasonable people.
More Clarification…
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Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes,
slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats,
intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive
objects or pictures, and interference with work performance.
Harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including, but not
limited to, the following:
The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, an agent of
the employer, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
The victim does not have to be the person harassed, but can be anyone affected by
the offensive conduct.
Unlawful harassment may occur without economic injury to, or discharge of, the
victim.
Note…
• Bullying is a form of psychological harassment.
• The most common form of psychological harassment is
verbal abuse, meant to humiliate or weaken the morale
of individuals or groups.
• Remember the slide on “Deliberate Indifference.”
• Make certain you investigate claims of bullying and
report them to your principal!
• Parents reporting claims of bullying often look upon the
faculty and the administration as fools because they think
we know everything! Please help us – report what you
know.
UDASD…
 Must strive to create an environment in
which employees feel free to raise
concerns and are confident that those
concerns will be addressed.
 Must inform the harasser directly that the
conduct is unwelcome and must stop.
Also, Employees should report
harassment to management at an early
stage to prevent its escalation.
What are Open Public Records?
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Records may be accessed unless,
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Release would incur loss of federal or state funds,
Would result in a risk of physical harm or security,
Would threaten homeland or military security,
Would result in a security risk to a physical structure
Would jeopardize computer security,
They detail threat assessments, etc.,
They contain personal identification information or records of individual
medical, psychiatric, or psychological history
They contain performance reviews, ratings, letters of reference, or test
scores,
More exceptions…
• A record pertaining to labor negotiations: this
doesn’t apply to signed contracts,
• Any exhibits from arbitration hearings or the
transcript of an arbitration decision,
• Or the draft of a bill, resolution, regulation, policy,
management directive, ordinance, or amendment
prepared for or by an agency.
However, email is a public record! Do not forget
that text messages never, ever go away!
An Open Records Officer…
• Receives requests and fills those valid,
• Requests must be in writing on the required state form,
• Sensitive information may be redacted from certain
documents for a fee,
• “Requesters” must pay for copies.
• UDASD must respond within five business days.
Fees
• “Requesters” pay $.25 per page for copies.
• If sensitive documents must be copied and information
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must be edited, “redacted” from those documents, the
redacting fee is $28.42 per hour or $15.00 per page.
Any district employee who receives an Open Records
Request must immediately forward it to the Open
Records Officer.
The Business Manager is the unfortunate Open Records
Officer.
Upper Dauphin Area School District
Confidentiality Guidelines
During your employment with the Upper Dauphin Area School District, you may have
access to confidential information regarding students, staff members, or other
District-related matters. All employees are expected to only access, use, or share
confidential information, as needed, in order to fulfill their legitimate job
responsibilities. Employees may not access, divulge or make copies of confidential
information in the District’s possession for non-job related reasons; disclosures of
confidential information to others for non-District purposes is strictly prohibited.
This policy is not intended to prevent disclosures where disclosures are required by law.
Employees must exercise good judgment and care at all times to avoid unauthorized
or improper disclosures of confidential information. If employees do not know
whether certain information is considered confidential, they should confer with their
immediate supervisors before making any disclosure of such information. In addition,
employees should be sensitive to the risk of inadvertent disclosure and should, for
example, refrain from leaving confidential information on desks or otherwise in plain
view and refrain from public discussions confidential information if the conversation
could be heard by unauthorized persons.
An employee’s duties to respect the privacy of confidentiality information continues after
employment ends, and he or she shall return, at the request of the District, all
documents, papers, and other materials, regardless of medium, which may contain or
be derived from confidential information, in his or her possession.
Break Time!
• Fifteen minutes
And just a little more!
• Safe Schools Website – CARRT Training
• Policy 816 – Use of Cell Phones
• Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate
Policy 806 Child/Student Abuse
The Board adopts this policy to affirm district employees'
obligation to assist in identifying and reporting possible child abuse
as well as victimization of students by other school employees, and
to establish procedures for reporting such in compliance with law.
Administrator - the person responsible for the administration of a
district school. The term includes a person responsible for
employment decisions in a school and an independent contractor.
The principal of the school where the abused student is enrolled will
serve as the administrator under this policy.
Applicant - an individual who applies for a position as a school
employee. The term includes an individual who transfers from one
position as a school employee to another position as a school
employee.
Defined…
Child Abuse - means any of the following:
Any recent act or failure to act by a perpetrator which causes nonaccidental
serious physical injury to a child under eighteen (18) years of age.
Any act or failure to act by a perpetrator which causes nonaccidental serious
mental injury to or sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of a child under
eighteen (18) years of age.
Any recent act, failure to act, or series of such acts or failures to act by a
perpetrator which creates an imminent risk of serious physical injury to or
sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of a child under eighteen (18) years of
age.
Serious physical neglect by a perpetrator constituting prolonged or repeated
lack of supervision or the failure to provide essentials of life, including
adequate medical care, which endangers a child's life or development or
impairs the child's functioning.
No child shall be deemed to be physically or mentally abused based on
injuries that result solely from environmental factors that are beyond the
control of the parent or person responsible for the child's welfare, such as
inadequate housing, furnishings, income, clothing, and medical care.
Child Abuse by Perpetrator
Duty to Report
School employees who in the course of employment come into contact with children shall report or
cause a report to be made when they have reasonable cause to suspect, on the basis of medical,
professional, or other training and experience, that a child under the care, supervision, guidance or
training of district employees is a victim of child abuse, including child abuse by an individual who is not
a perpetrator.
Except as stated in law, privileged communication between any professional person required to report
and the patient or client of that person shall not apply to situations involving child abuse and shall not
constitute grounds for failure to report.
School employees required to report suspected child abuse shall include but are not limited to a school
administrator, school teacher, school counselor, and/or school nurse.
Any person required to report child abuse who, in good faith, reports or causes the report to be made
shall have immunity from civil and criminal liability related to those actions.
A school employee required to report suspected child abuse who, acting in an official capacity, prevents
or interferes with the making of a report of suspected child abuse commits a misdemeanor of the first
degree.
A school employee or official required to report suspected child abuse or make a referral to the
appropriate authorities who willfully fails to do so commits a misdemeanor of the third degree for the
first violation and a misdemeanor of the second degree for a second or subsequent violation.
Update: Reporting Procedures
• School employees who suspect child abuse shall
immediately notify the building principal. Upon
notification, the school employee and the principal shall
report the suspected child abuse.
• Reports of child abuse shall immediately be made by
telephone to the Childline Abuse Registry and in writing
to the county Children and Youth Agency within fortyeight (48) hours after the oral report.
Policy 816 Use of Wireless Devices
By Employees
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Employees must use discretion in the use of wireless devices to prevent unnecessary interruption to the
instructional program.
Personal cell phones may be used to make brief calls which are necessary for carrying out professional, personal or
family obligations and responsibilities. Calls shall be limited in duration and should only occur during unassigned
periods, which include lunch, scheduled breaks, teacher preparation time, and/or prior to student arrival and after
student dismissal.
At no time shall calls be made in the presence of students, nor shall they occur during assigned duties.
Students shall not be permitted to use staff members’ personal cell phones.
Personal cell phones must be concealed by staff members during assigned duties and must be turned off during
duty assignments and all related meetings.
Employees required to carry cell phones belonging to the district must follow Board policy and guidelines for use of
district cell phones, as implemented by the Director of Technology.
The Board authorizes the Superintendent to grant specific exceptions to this policy when extenuating
circumstances exist. The employee must have prior written approval by the Superintendent or building principal for
an exception.
ALICE instead of Passive Lockdown
• ALICE is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform,
Counter, and Evacuate.
• Our present Lockdown procedure honors command,
control, and convenience as its first priorities.
• ALICE’s first priority is survival, and Virginia Tech was its
laboratory.
Barricade the Door
• Tables and Desks are effective. If you have room for a nice
heavy filing cabinet next to the door where it can be
easily moved, give it serious thought.
• Tie backs, belts, and computer cords can be used to
secure doors.
Schedule
• Prescription Drug Awareness
• UDAEA Meeting, 11:00-11:30
• District lunch, 11:30-12:30
• PM - Building
• Building Faculty Meetings – 1:00 – 3:00