New Employee Handbook 2019

NEW EMPLOYEE NOTEBOOK

Welcome to District 49!

District Overview

Our vision is to be the Best Choice in public education.

We envision a future when every time a student, parent or educator chooses a school district, we are the best choice they can make. We have a mission to Learn, Work and Lead.

Our commitment is to be the best place to learn, to work and to lead. Every day, we create environments, so that everyone associated with the district is always learning, working and leading us to be the best.

District 49 spans 133 square miles of urban and rural areas in Colorado, covering northeast Colorado Springs and the Falcon area of El Paso County. The district’s central office is located at 10850 E. Woodmen Road in Peyton, Colo. As the fastest growing school district in the Pikes Peak Region, we currently serve more than 21,000 students within our portfolio of schools.

The district offers school of choice options.

Peter Hilts, Chief Education Officer Brett Ridgway, Chief Business Officer Pedro Almeida, Chief Operations Officer

District Organization Chart d49.org/orgchart

WELCOME

District 49 is led by three chief officers rather than a single superintendent. The chief education officer, chief business officer and chief operations officer work collaboratively together, and directly with, department directors who are staffed with activity coordinators and specialists.

Board of Education The District 49 Board of Education works to advance excellence in public education through effective leadership by locally elected directors. d49.org/BOE

BOE Policies

d49.org/policies

District Mission & Vision District 49’s board-approved strategic plan provides unified vision, goals and strategies to prepare students to achieve like never before.

Our strategic plan is organized around a big rocks metaphor. If the district identifies and focuses on what’s most important – the big rocks of trust, community, firm foundations, portfolio of schools and every student – and then adds other things around them, the medium-sized rocks, and finally works in the pebbles, everything fits together better. District 49 has applied this metaphor in the strategic plan, which identifies the district’s Big Rocks.

These strategic initiatives will be emphasized over the upcoming years, representing the district’s commitment to its community.

These five rocks are the foundation for building an excellent future with staff, students and the greater community.

Strategic Plan: The Big Rocks Establishing Enduring Trust We endeavor to establish and maintain enduring trust throughout our community, not by telling our patrons that we’re trustworthy, but by demonstrating it.

Engage Our Community The district has a lot to offer our community, and we recognize that our community has a lot to offer back.

That reciprocal relationship offers a powerful multiplier for student success.

WELCOME

Host a Robust Portfolio of Schools We commit to offer high quality, exceptional schools in all of our zones - schools that are different from each other and superior to the options students might have in neighboring districts and communities.

Build a Firm Foundation The success of every student begins with a firm foundation of academic knowledge and mastery of skills that ensure a successful progression through school and beyond.

Launch Every Student to Success We launch every student to success by building individualized pathways that guide each student toward a valued future. By the time they finish their pathways, every student will be prepared to learn, work and lead our communities into the future.

Cultural Compass District 49’s cultural compass provides the intended bearing to students, parents and staff - how we treat each other and our work. We use the compass to orient us as an organization and as individuals in our execution of the “Five Big Rocks” of our strategic plan.

The heart of the compass rose guides our actions in how we relate to and treat each other.

RESPECT We respect others for their abilities, qualities and achievements.

TRUST We promote trust in our relationships through honest and open communication.

CARE We provide a safe and caring environment for students and staff.

RESPONSIBILITY We hold ourselves accountable for our actions.

The outer face of the compass rose guides us in how we treat our work.

LEARNING We model continuous learning to encourage life-long learners.

PURPOSE We ensure all decisions align with the “Five Big Rocks.”

INNOVATION We encourage risk taking by supporting creative exploration of new ideas and strategies.

WELCOME

TEAMWORK We embrace working together to achieve effective results for our students and community.

As our guiding paradigm, the cultural compass creates an atmosphere of camaraderie shared perspective.

Maintaining a principle-centered vector to relationships and work increases the cultural capacity of the organization, making District 49 “The Best Choice to Learn, Work & Lead.”

District Info District Calendar d49.org/calendar

Employee Handbook d49.org/employeehandbook

District Contact Info Human Resources d49.org/hr

Education Office d49.org/educationoffice

Business Office d49.org/businessoffice

Operations Office d49.org/operationsoffice

Portfolio of Schools District 49 will create a robust portfolio of distinct and exceptional schools. It’s not enough just to have a bunch of different kinds of schools, but the district needs to have high quality, exceptional schools.

District 49 strives to offer wonderful schools in all of our zones, schools that are different from each other and superior to the options students might have in neighboring districts and communities.

Innovation Zones Zones are an important and sometimes misunderstood component of the board-directed innovation philosophy of District 49. Student populations across our district’s large geographic area have different educational needs, learning styles, political values and social structures.

WELCOME

To meet the needs of our students and families across the district, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t make sense.

Zones allow our three different geographic regions and non-traditional learning community to have flexibility in executing our strategic plan. Educational philosophies, areas of study that are emphasized and how financial resources are allocated are all different between our autonomous zones.

It’s local. It’s school by school.

ZONE Information d49.org/zoneoverview

Zone Bell Schedules d49.org/zonebellschedules

NOTES:

Safety & Security

School safety encompasses multiple domains within the school environment. Each must be reviewed when assessing the level of safety for students and staff.

SAFETY & SECURITY

Safety and emergency preparedness is a top priority in District 49. School safety is the responsibility of everyone – students and parents, along with staff and community members. District and school-level safety and security teams are constantly coordinating with their local law enforcement partners. The district conducts monthly emergency procedure drills, as well as individualized training opportunities with school faculty.

Some components of our assessment process include development and enforcement of policies, procedures for data collection, development of intervention and prevention plans, level of staff development, opportunities for student involvement, level of parent and community involvement, role of law enforcement, standards for safety and security personnel, safety and security of buildings and grounds, and development of emergency response plans.

When you follow the link below, you will find information on not only the various drills and how to do them, but resources for bullying, Safe2Tell and other security needs.

d49.org/safety

SAFETY & SECURITY

NOTES:

Ethics & Professionalism

Ethics and Professionalism

As a D49 team member, you have a responsibility to be familiar with and abide by federal and state laws as these affect your work, and the policies and regulations of the district. As representatives of the district and role models for students, you are expected to demonstrate and uphold high professional, ethical and moral standards.

You are expected to conduct yourself in a manner that is consistent with the educational mission of the district and to maintain professional boundaries with students at all times. Interactions between staff members must be based on mutual respect and any disputes will be resolved in a professional manner.

District 49’s identity, vision and philosophy relies on the cultural compass, which represents the eight core values that guide the way the district learns, works and leads. The inner compass rose represents our expectations for how members of the district’s work family interact with each other, with students and with our community. The outer compass represents our core values as related to our work and expectation for continuous learning and leadership at all levels. (For all board of education policies, visit https:// www.d49.org/policies)

Professional Boundaries

(See policy GBEB-R-1 on policies page of d49.org)

Essential to success as an educator is learning to establish and maintain professional relationships with students. In a professional staff/student relationship, staff members maintain boundaries with students that are consistent with their professional code of conduct and obligations. Policy GBEB-R-1 defines professional boundaries and specifically prohibits certain conduct, such as, but not limited to:

• Engaging in private communications through social media, text messaging or any other means.

• Singling out a student or students for individual attention.

• Maintaining private contact with a student outside of school without including the parent.

• Inappropriate physical contact.

• Disclosing personal, sexual, family, employment or other private matters.

It is critically important that you know and understand the expectations outlined in this policy. Many educators dismiss this as “common sense.” However, every year, the district receives and investigates reports of staff misconduct involving boundary violations.

Technology, Digital Communication & Social Media (See policies GBEB-R-1, GBEE on policies page of d49.org)

The district has issued you a district-owned computer, which is intended primarily for instructional purposes. While the district allows some personal use of the device, you are expected to use it at all times in a responsible, efficient, ethical and legal manner.

Personal content such as images and documents that you put on the district-owned device becomes district property. Please be aware that your computer usage can be tracked and that email and other electronic communication is public information.

What you do online and on social media reflects on your school and the district. Your actions can create legal risk for the district and yourself. You are free to participate on social media using your own accounts and on your own time. You are encouraged to exercise discretion in the way you talk about work and co-workers.

Please remember that what you do reflects on your school.

(See policy GBEA on d49.org)

As a part of your role, you will access confidential student information. Disclosure of confidential information may create significant risk for the district and seriously damage the district’s reputation and credibility, and therefore, such action will not be tolerated. Any copying, reproducing or distributing of confidential information in any manner must be authorized by an administrator.

Confidential information remains the property of the district and must be returned to the district upon separation or at any time upon demand.

Conflicts of Interest & Close Relationships

(See policy GBEA, GBEA-R on d49.org)

Ethics & Professionalism

Confidentiality

To minimize conflict of interest concerns, board policy sets conditions and prohibitions on the hiring of closely related persons. No employee may exercise supervisory, evaluative, appointment, dismissal or disciplinary authority over another employee when they share a close relationship.

“Close relationship” and “closely related persons” refer to relationships that could cause a conflict of interest and include individuals related by biology, adoption, marriage, domestic partnership or business partnership.

Close relationships also refer to sexual or romantic relationships or those sharing a household. Employees are required to disclose any close relationship or outside activities to the human resources department.

If you have any questions about whether a situation is a conflict of interest, you should discuss the matter with human resources.

 Gifts

(See policy GBEA on d49.org)

The district recognizes that from time to time, the desire to give, accept or exchange gifts arises. Except for token gifts, you should decline gifts from students. The district considers letters from students expressing gratitude and appreciation to be appropriate.

If you are unsure about whether you can accept a certain gift, contact your administrator. Â Individual employees shall refrain from giving gifts to those who exercise any administrative or supervisory authority over them.

The collection of money for group gifts is generally discouraged, but is allowed in special circumstances such as bereavement, serious illness or mementos at retirement.

You are prohibited from accepting gifts of other than minimal value from companies or organizations doing business with the district.

You shall not accept a gift from any district or organization if the acceptance of the gift would unduly affect you in the performance of your duties.

Social Media & Digital Communication (See policies GBEB-R-1 and GBEE on d49.org)

d49.org/policies

Employee Online The EO is where you view and print check stubs, process address and phone number changes, view current position (job classification code) and hourly rate, view current benefit coverage, view education, out-of-district course training records and certificates, and display leave history detail.

When you access this site, you will be required to enter both your EMPLOYEE ID # and your INITIAL PASSWORD.

• INITIAL PASSWORD: your nine digit social security number (no dashes).

d49.org/employeeonline

Have Questions?

Employee Tools

• EMPLOYEE ID: find the number on your employee badge and add an “E” before number.

Contact one of the human resources team members listed below if you have questions about Employee Online.

• Administrators - Sandra Nemer: snemer@d49.org or x1110 • ESP/Prof Tech - Michaela Vanderheiden:

mvanderheiden@d49.org or x1156 • Licensed - Sarah Glauvitz: sglauvitz@d49.org or x1139

• Guest Teachers - Tiffany Copple: tcopple@d49.org or x1115

Salary Advancement Salary advancement information and forms can be found in the Schoology Licensed Staff Group.

DEADLINES The Beginning School Year Horizontal Advancement Application is DUE BY THE LAST WORKING DAY IN AUGUST. If approved, the change will appear beginning on your September paycheck.

The Mid-Year School Year Horizontal Advancement Application is DUE BY THE LAST WORKING DAY IN FEBRUARY. If approved, the change will appear beginning on your March paycheck.

GUIDELINES Staff on Emergency Authorizations or INR contracts are not eligible to move on the salary schedule through Horizontal Advancement.

Newly-hired licensed staff are not eligible to advance until the Mid-Year Horizontal Advancement period (due the end of February).

We will ONLY accept documentation that confirms the earned credits hours were acquired within the last two (2) years.

(Please refrain from sending in documents that were submitted with previous requests and that do not apply to the current Horizontal Advancement Application.)

If you have taken any professional development through the Aha! Network, do not submit those certificates as we are able to view them in our system. If your instructor advised you to submit them due to a smaller class size, please do so. Send applications via email to: lbuhl@d49.org or sglauvitz@d49.org or through the pony.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MUST be earned after normal working hours OR on a non-contracted work day (e.g. weekend, breaks) and MUST include the following information via an agenda or letter on the facilitating organization’s letterhead:

Certificates MUST include the following:

Transcripts • Must be clear and legible.

• Classes listed as “in progress” will not be accepted.

• Classes must be related to education.

• College credit must be graduate level and posted on transcripts.

• Undergraduate credits may be accepted with prior approval from the building principal and the human resources department.

• Copies of “official” transcripts are required.

d49.org/schoology

Employee Tools

• Name of class, participant, presenter or facilitating organization.

• Date certificate was awarded (If the duration of the course extends from a contracted work day into the weekend, the weekend portion will be granted credit with an agenda detailing date/times.).

• If the certificate was earned over a period of time or multiple days, you must include an agenda (This is not required if the certificate clearly shows that the class was online.).

• Amount of hours earned.

Benefits District 49 offers a competitive benefits package for all full time employees. The district comprehensive benefits package includes a number of different plans for full-time staff members.

The following plans are currently offered: • Medical Insurance Plan – helps pay covered medical expenses for you and your family.

• Dental Insurance Plan – helps pay covered dental expenses for you and your family.

• Vision Insurance Plan – helps pay covered vision expenses for you and your family.

• Life Insurance Plan – provides term insurance coverage equal to one times your annual salary.

• Long-Term Disability (LTD) Plan – helps replace a portion of your salary, if you suffer a covered disability.

• Personal Accident Insurance Plan – provides payments in case of accidental death or dismemberment.

For more information about these plans, please refer to the employee benefits web page or contact the risk and benefits manager.

d49.org/benefits

Shannon Hathaway Risk and Benefits Manager Office: 719.495.1158 Email: shathaway@d49.org

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) School District 49 EAP provides a wide range of supports such as:

• Counseling: Trauma, Addiction, Eating Disorders, Anxiety, etc.

Employee Tools

• Legal: Will Preparation, Financial, Landlord Issues, Fraud • Family: Daycare Providers, Parenting Classes, Adoption Services, Senior Care, etc.

• Financial: Credit Management, Bankruptcy, Retirement Planning, Divorce Finance Issues, etc.

You can call, chat online, or text to receive information and support.

Call 1-888-293-6948 or visit

workhealthlife.com

Falcon Health Clinic District 49 offers a school-based health center at Falcon Elementary School of Technology. Peak Vista Community Health Centers provide basic health care to district students and their siblings, 0-21 years of age. All insurance plans are accepted, as well as uninsured patients. d49.org/SBHC

Sick Leave & Personal Leave d49.org/policies

Catastrophic Leave Bank The purpose of the catastrophic leave bank is to provide a source of income continuation for a participating employee who sustains a catastrophic illness or injury and has not yet qualified for disability benefits or for an employee who needs to care for a family member with a catastrophic illness or injury.

Newly-hired employees are eligible to apply for membership in the CLB by contributing one (1) sick leave day to the bank. To apply, the newly-hired employee must complete and submit to human resources an “application for Catastrophic Leave Bank membership” form within five (5) working days of the employee’s new hire orientation. All other eligible employees may apply for membership by submitting an “application for Catastrophic Leave Bank membership” form during the bank’s open enrollment period from August 1 through August 31, at the beginning of each school year.

Frontline Absence Management

bit.ly/2Jlb8VY

Tips for Preparing for a Guest Teacher You may need to arrange for a substitute due to illness or professional development.

• Prepare your class early in the school year by clearly setting expectations and remind them the day before you’re absent.

• Leave one plan/schedule for the day.

• Leave an emergency plan for an unforeseen circumstance for which you may not be able to fully prepare.

• Leave regular lesson plans and engaging activities for your substitute to teach rather than videos or busy work.

• Provide a class list and keep an accurate seating chart.

• List reliable students the substitute can call on for help.

• Have a schedule for students that leave the room for special classes.

• List the names of neighboring teachers who can be called on for assistance.

• Near the phone post important phone numbers.

• Let the substitute know about teaching assistants and/or volunteers who work in the room and leave specific instructions for these individuals.

• Make sure the school map is current.

• Be specific about the schedule.

• Write down dismissal time, including time it takes students to get ready to leave.

• List students who have challenges or special conditions and recommendations for handling situations.

Employee Tools

To request a guest teacher, log into Frontline Absence Management. Select your reason for the absence and the time (full day, half-day AM, half-day PM).

Click on “Create Absence.”

Learning Services Aha! Network The professional learning team provides District 49 educators innovative, engaging and highly effective professional learning opportunities to empower educators to accelerate student learning.

Check out the Aha! Network for all district professional learning opportunities.

ahanet.org

Wellness District 49 provides a variety of staff and student wellness programs. d49.org/Page/7343

Assessment Calendar d49.org/assessments

EdTech d49edtech.org

Schoology

schoology.d49.org

PowerSchool

Employee Tools

Schoology is our learning management system for both staff and students.

PowerSchool is the district student information system.

This is where you will put in attendance, grades, find parent contact information, and specific student information. Your login for Schoology is the same as your district username and password.

d49.powerschool.com/ teachers/pw.html

IT Help Submit an “IT Request” for assistance with information technology maintenance, such as those issues related to computer viruses, instructional technologies, operating systems, email accounts or network connectivity.

For immediate IT assistance or to report an outage, call:

Colorado Computer Support help desk: 719.495.1137

d49.org/ITrequest

Communication Teacher Website Each teacher in D49 has a specific webpage that includes your bio, education and contact information. Follow these steps to edit your teacher page.

1. Sign into D49.org You’ve already got an account. Use your district username and password.

Your district username is your email address, minus the “@d49.org.”

Your email password is also your d49.org password.

2. Open site manager and edit your page After signing in, you’ll see “my passkeys” and “my options” in the top right-hand corner or “edit page” top right above content on page.

Under the classes and activities section, you should see classrooms, academic departments or something similar. You’ll also see an option for clubs. Select your classroom or academic departments, then find your page.

Click select.

3. Check your Work After signing in, open your page and make edits within the “teacher app� of the classrooms and activities section.

Check for spelling and correct hyperlinks.

"Alt text" must be used for each photo.

Each document needs to be ADA compliant and cannot contain copyrighted material.

Do not post course material from books or websites without permission. You must be logged in to make changes.

District 49 App

Employee Tools

Complete available fields including your bio, education and contact information. We encourage you to do more with your page. If you need additional apps added for document uploads, contact webmaster@d49.org to request an additional app for your page.

All of your favorite school tools and resources are now in a mobile app.

Scan with your phone camera to download:

Or... search Google Play, or the Apple App Store for:

Colorado School District 49

Other Helpful Tools A Peak Inside Employee Newsletter

d49.org/peakinside

Communications Plan Form To request news story coverage of an event

d49.org/commplan

Fantastic 49 Nomination Form bit.ly/30yp2tA

VoW Surveys Watch for our annual Voice of the Workforce survey, as well as our follow-up surveys throughout the school year.

Employee feedback is very valued in D49.

Falcon Education Foundation The Falcon Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises funds beyond the usual means of support to help students and teachers reach their full potential, now and into the future.

A healthy school district partners with local residents and businesses to help meet the growing demands of education to increase student achievement and prepare students for work in the 21st century.

FEF Mini Grants Apply for a mini grant to fund a unique learning opportunity in your classroom.

d49.org/fef

Employee Tools

District 49 has several community partnerships that help enhance the educational experience for all students.

Induction Forms bit.ly/2NITyPX

Induction Flowchart

NOTES:

Employee Tools

Types of Support for Teachers & SSPs

D49 Acronym List APE............. Adaptive Physical Education AL................ Alternative Licensure AF................ Affective Needs

D/HH.......... Deaf/Hard of Hearing ED TECH... Educational Technology ELA............. English Language Arts

AP................ Advanced Placement

ELD............. English Language Developments

ASL.............. American Sign Language

ELL.............. English Language Learner

AYP.............. Annual Yearly Progress

ELP.............. English Language Plan

BCBA.......... Board Certified Behavior Analyst

EAP............. Employee Assistance Program

BIP.............. Behavior Intervention Plan

EOY............. End of Year

BOE............. Board of Education

ESP.............. Educational Support Personnel

BOY............. Beginning of Year

FBA............. Functional Behavior

CAS............. Colorado Academic Standards

Assessment

CBO............ Chief Business Officer CE............... Concurrent Enrollment CEA............. Community Engagement Advocate

GE............... Gifted Education HEAR.......... Higher Education Admissions Requirements HO.............. Highly Qualified

CEO............ Chief Education Officer

HR............... Human Resources

CDE............ Colorado Department of Education

IB................. International Baccalaureate

CKH............ Capturing Kids Hearts CKLA.......... Core Knowledge Language

Arts Curriculum CLDE.......... Culturally and Linguistically

Diverse Education CMAS.......... Colorado Measures of

Academic Success COALT........ Colorado Alternative Assessment COO............ Chief Operations Officer CPI.............. Crisis Prevention Intervention CTE............. Career Technical Education DAAC.......... District Accountability

Advisory Committee

ICAP............ Individualized Career and

Academic Plan ID................ Intellectual Disability IDEA........... Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act IE................. Individualized Education IEP.............. Individualized Education Program IT................. Information Technology LEP.............. Limited English Proficiency LMS............. Learning Management System MOY............ Middle of Year MTSS.......... Multi-Tiered Systems

of Support

NEP............. Non-English Proficient

S2T.............. Safe 2 Tell

OT............... Occupational Therapy

SRO............. School Resource Officer

PLCs............ Professional Learning Communities

SSN.............. Specialized Support Needs

PL................ Professional Learning

SSP.............. Specialized Service Professionals

PT................ Physical Therapy READ ACT..Read Act SAC............. School Assessment Coordinator SED............. Serious Emotional Disability SIP............... School Improvement Plan SLD............. Significant Learning Disability SLP.............. Speech Language Pathologist SPED........... Special Education SPF.............. School Performance Framework

SOCO.......... Social Communication Disorder TOD............ Teacher of the Deaf TOSA........... Teacher on Special Assignment TVI.............. Teacher of the

Visually Impaired UIP.............. Unified Improvement Plan VOW........... Voice of the Workforce WPL............ Workplace Learning ZL................ Zone Leader

Appendix

Tips for Your First Year of Teaching Teaching is exciting, rewarding and satisfying. It is also difficult, draining, and sometimes heart wrenching.

The work we do demands dedication, and the ability to give and grow year after year. How will you deal with the daily roller coaster of teaching? Here are some tips to get your first year off to a good start.

Set high and consistent expectations. Reinforce positive behavior and academic performance.

Support one another and seek wisdom from others.

Your mentor can be a lifesaver.

He or she can help you keep your perspective.

Also, look for opportunities to collaborate with other first-year teachers so you can support each other.

Fight isolation in all aspects of your work. Participate in school and community activities that strengthen your relationship with colleagues, parents, and students. You need to have a life outside of your career.

Reach out for support early and all the time. Don’t wait for a problem to get out of hand. Communicate with parents early in the year. Document everything and talk with your mentor and administrator about any problems you may have.

Document communication. When talking with parents, administrators or other teachers on important matters, take the time to log the conversation in a notebook. It will help you recall the discussion at a later date, if needed.

Be realistic. Don’t let your concern for each child overwhelm you.

Take care of yourself. Block off time in your calendar to take care of yourself physically, mentally and spiritually. Treat yourself with respect, compassion and patience.

Keep a sense of humor. Laughter helps to relieve stress. Once you gain some perspective, it will not be as bad as it may seem now.

Love learning, love your students and love teaching! These tips are offered by both first-year and veteran teachers to help you keep your life in perspective.

Teaching Channel: New Teacher Series

Explore videos, blogs and resources for beginning teachers. teachingchannel.org/new-teacher

Teaching Channel: Elementary Starter Pack

Teaching Channel: Middle School Starter Pack bit.ly/2YM6XrD

Teaching Channel: High School Starter Pack bit.ly/2RyMjvM

Appendix

bit.ly/2NN3zMj

Self-Care:

Caring For Yourself So You can Care For Others You became a teacher because you want to make a difference, because you love children and because you enjoy seeing the expression on a child’s face when he or she finally understands a new concept. It is that passion that makes you a great teacher— the same passion that can also lead to burn-out.

Avoiding burn-out is one reason self-care is important. You cannot care for others, if you do not take care of yourself. Self-care is important because it enables you to be an effective teacher. If you are tired, either emotionally or physically, you cannot do your job well.

Finally and possibly most important, self-care is important so you can model good balance and healthy boundaries to your students and co-workers.

Following are several strategies to help you care for yourself more effectively: Set healthy boundaries. Say yes when you mean yes and no when you mean no.

Recognize your limits, and do what is most important. Trying to be super-teacher has consequences (mostly negative ones). No, you cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound!

Take breaks often. You will be amazed at what a five minute break will do. Whether it’s spent just relaxing your brain and body, eating a healthy snack, or meditating, you will be rejuvenated so the work you do is more efficient. Set a goal to take a five minute break at least every hour.

Exercise. Research shows that exercise can help increase energy, improve concentration, and decrease stress and depression. It also allows you to focus on yourself and take care of your body. Both are important for reducing burn-out.

Know your own threshold for stress. Recognize the first signs of stress. These may include increased heart rate, change in appetite, fatigue and irritability. Pay attention to what triggers stress for you and either avoid those situations or learn relaxation techniques, so you can manage your stress effectively. Modeling these skills for your students will teach them how they can handle their own stress. Focused breathing and deep muscle relaxation have been proven to work. Find at least three activities that relieve stress for you.

Do these things consistently. Planning ahead of time to prevent stress or becoming aware of what you can do when you become stressed will help decrease burn-out.

Start your day on a positive note. Begin your day by doing something that lifts you up and makes you feel good. It may be enjoying quiet time in meditation or prayer, thinking about the positive things that are in store for you that day, taking a walk or conversing with your spouse about positive things. What you do first can set the tone for how you manage your entire day.

-Anne Brunette, MSW, Family Therapist

New Teacher Resources This section features tips, strategies, sample letters and resources for beginning teachers.

Sample Elementary Letter to Parents Dear Parents and Guardians, Welcome to kindergarten! I am delighted to have your child in my class this year. I am looking forward to a very successful year and know you are too. I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself and express my excitement about working with your child this year.

I love teaching kindergarten because this is the time when children are filled with curiosity and wonder regarding how the world works.

I believe students grow and develop by encouraging their natural curiosity about the world.

During the first two weeks of school, we will be spending the majority of our time helping students get to know one another and becoming comfortable with various classroom routines. One of our main goals is to help students become independent workers and thinkers.

Sincerely, Mr. John Doe Kindergarten Teacher

Appendix

I have high academic expectations for your child, and I will do all that I can to help your child achieve those expectations. You are an integral part of your child’s education, therefore, I feel communication is of vital importance. I hope to talk with the parents and/or guardians of each of my students in the coming weeks. I plan to contact you personally to introduce myself and see if you have any questions about the upcoming year. I would also like to extend an invitation for you to contact me at any time. I can be reached through the main office at school, on my cell phone or via email. If you would like to talk in person, I am always available to schedule appointments before school or after school. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sample Secondary Letter to Parents Dear Parents; Welcome to the new school year! My name is Jane Doe, and I will be your child’s science teacher for this coming school year. I am excited to have your child in my class and very excited to get a chance to lead your child through a wonderful and fascinating experience over the next nine months.

I want to tell you a bit about my class, so you can best know how to help your child succeed in science. It is my goal to provide all students with an educationally challenging, yet fun, experience in my class. They will work really hard on everything we do. I am a believer that your child must take an active part in their own education.

To maintain safety in the science classroom, there will be safety guidelines that your child will be required to follow. Those guidelines are outlined in the student safety contract. Please read over the safety contract with your child. You and your child are required to sign the contract. Please sign and return it to me by August 22. This contract must be on file before your child will be allowed to participate in any labs.

Your child also has a class syllabus that has been given to them in class. The class rules, expectations and supply list are listed in the syllabus.

Finally, I want you to know that one of my most important goals this year is to keep the lines of communication open with you. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me. I am available to talk to you daily between 7:30 - 7:50 a.m. or 3:00 - 4:00 p.m., or you may e-mail me. My contact information is 719-495-1149 ext. 1000 or jdoe@d49.org.

Mrs. Doe, Science Teacher

Appendix

NOTES: