DV Voice - August 3, 2018 by Deer Valley Unified School District

AUGUST 3, 2018

IN THIS EDITION  Important Payroll Information  Certified Performance Pay  New for 2018-2019

Welcome Back! How can you make this year #Extraordinary? Here are FIVE easy things you can do:

Read Deer Valley Voice – Every two weeks, you will receive this publication with important info about the District and schools, your paycheck (page 2), deals/discounts (Page 6), opportunities from Business Partners (Page 10-11), etc. Join Twitter – Seriously! See all of the #Extraordinary stories taking place every day across the District by following @DVUSD and @DrFinchDVUSD Ask Questions – Many staff report that they have questions about District academics and finances. Ask your supervisor, ask questions through the communication council, just ask! Get Involved – Join your schools CIT or PTA/PTO or a committee (There’s a great one mentioned on page 3) Submit Good News – Submit your good news about students and colleagues, awards, grants, honors, etc. by clicking: Submit Good News. DEER VALLEY VOICE – AUGUST 3, 2018

 New Core Values – How many do you know?  What I did on Summer Vacation

 Happy Birthday District Portal! The District Portal celebrated it's 10th birthday this summer on June 18th! Since it's "birth," the portal has grown to over 184K lines of code that provides an extensive CMS tool-set, contextual search engine, and dozens of Single-Sign-Ons. You can help us make the Portal better this next year (and 10 more) by sending us your suggestions. The top 2 ideas will win a prize from IS&T. Contest ends January 1, 2019.

Important Payroll Information New for 2018-19: Several payroll changes for all employees For all employees Pay dates will remain on Thursdays, although the pay cycle has changed (see For Classified Employees information below) For Classified Employees Due to recent changes in State statutes, starting in 2018-2019 you will be receiving your pay within 7 days from the pay period end date. Previously, your pay was 10 days from the pay period end date. This change requires a shift in the biweekly pay cycle. Previously, the pay cycle was from Saturday through Friday and each pay period included 2 weeks – with the pay date being Thursday. Our pay date will continue to be on Thursday, but starting July 1, 2018 the pay period will be from Wednesday through Tuesday, which is still 2 weeks. Important to note – processing of time card edits and approvals will need to take place by noon on Wednesday, every two weeks (this is significantly less time then was previously provided so it will be helpful to review and adjust time card entries on an ongoing basis instead of just biweekly). For Certified Teachers For 2018-19 your first pay will be on August 16, which is not a change. Your last pay will be on June 6, 2019, which is one pay period later than in previous years. This change is being made in order to comply with the requirement that no employee be paid in advance of completing their contract obligations. Previously, the last pay date was the same week as the last week of school and was paid prior to the contract being completed. In addition, the final check had to be processed several days prior to the pay date and did not allow us the opportunity to make any final adjustments that may have become necessary. The major changes, however, will be to the pay options available. (Information continues at top of next column.) DEER VALLEY VOICE – AUGUST 3, 2018

For Certified Teachers (Continued) If you are electing the 9 Month pay option, the number of pays has changed from 21 to 22 pays (which slightly reduces the biweekly amount each pay period, but not the total paid throughout the year). If you are electing the Balance of Contract pay option, the number of pays remains at 26 (with the balance of contract being the sum of five pays instead of six as it was in previous years, paid on June 6, 2019). Those employees that previously elected 21 pays will be automatically moved to 22 pays. The change to 22 pays was memorialized in the approved 2018-19 Certified Manual, approved by the Governing Board on July 10, 2018. Also worth noting, any addenda elected to be paid at the end of the year will be paid on the June 20th pay date. All 9 and 10 month employees - Insurance deductions will begin on the September 13, 2019 paycheck. This is one pay period later than in previous years, however the number of deductions will not change. When are the Pay Dates? See Page 8 of this edition of Deer Valley Voice for a list of Pay Dates. Questions? Please refer to the District Portal Payroll Page for pay calendars or click this link You can also contact your Payroll Bookkeeper.

CERTIFIED PERFORMANCE PAY The 2018-19 Board approved Certified Performance Pay plan can be found at this link on the Portal. That link takes you to the HR page. Scroll down to PERFORMANCE PAY / CERTIFIED. There you will see the 2018-19 plan, a document for logging your professional responsibility/PD hours and a document for filing performance pay appeals.

Thank you for reading the Deer Valley Voice! To make comments or ask questions, email monica.allread@dvusd.org. 2

CALENDAR CORNER  

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GET INVOLVED! JOIN THE GRADING & REPORTING COMMITEE We are now entering our second year of the three-year project to analyze our district’s grading policies and practices to ensure that the grades students receive truly reflect what they have learned in our classrooms. Our focus last year was simply trying to define what “authentic grading” was and we will be reaching a consensus on this definition at our kick off meeting in September. Once we have that definition in place, we will then move on to determining the best grading and reporting practices that will honor that definition. At our upcoming meetings this year, we will be addressing the following grading aspects: homework policies, grading scales, allowing students to redo assignments, issuing “zeros” for missing work, late work acceptance, extra credit, behavior grades, capping re-assessment grades, course weights, and final exams. We know that all of these areas might end up looking different at different grade levels, so there are actually two different committees that will be addressing everything separately from their perspectives: PreK-6 grades and 7-12 grades. As you can see, we still have a lot of work left to do!

Aug 7 – First Day of School! Aug 14 – Regular Governing Board Meeting, 7:00 p.m. Governing Board Room. Within 24 hours of a meeting Click here to view Agenda Aug 24 – Early Dismissal for Staff Development Sept 3 – Labor Day – Schools and District Offices closed Sept 10 – Fall Break Day – Schools and District Offices closed

BREAKFAST & LUNCH MEAL PRICE INCREASE For the 2018-2019 school year, the Food & Nutrition Department has unfortunately had to adjust breakfast and lunch prices to continue to operate in a self-sufficient manner. The primary reasons for the price adjustments are due to increased food, labor, and benefit costs. The increase in the state’s minimum wage rates have had a significant impact on labor costs. As a result, we have increased K-8 breakfast by 25 cents and lunch by 20 cents. Adult meal prices have increased as well. We are sensitive to price increases and are determined to keep our costs as low as we can by utilizing competitive bids, managing resources and utilizing cost benchmarks for improvement.

If you would like to be a part of this process and have a say in determining the grading policies and practices that every teacher will soon be required to follow, there is still an opportunity to get involved. To be considered for the committee, click here to see the meeting dates, time commitments, and requirements. Do you have general questions about this project? Please feel free to email Paul Strauss, one of our teacher representatives on the Leadership Committee overseeing this process. DEER VALLEY VOICE – AUGUST 3, 2018

COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION IN DVUSD Computer Science has driven innovation in every field and is powering approaches to many of our world’s toughest challenges. Through Computer Science Education students can transition from simply being computer users into computationally literate creators and problem solvers who are proficient in the concepts and practices of Computer Science. With this vision, DVUSD formed a Computer Science Education Committee in the Spring of 2016 which has both promoted and planned for providing all DVUSD students access to Computer Science Education. During the 2017-18 school year, 27 DVUSD campuses participated in the Hour of Code during Computer Science Education week in December and 20 campuses piloted a variety of Computer Science resources. With the start of a new school year DVUSD is raising the bar on providing Computer Science opportunities to students. The goals for Computer Science delivery in DVUSD schools for the 2018-19 school year are specified by grade level: PreK

Use of 5 unplugged lessons, plus coding activities on computers

K-5

All students will participate in a Computer Science special area course/ embedded curriculum/ center that meets for 15-30 class hours each school year, plus coding activities on computers

6-8

At least 9-weeks of Computer Science/ coding/ STEM available at each campus

9-12

All campuses will offer at least the first one-year course of a two-year sequence in Computer Science (Software & App Design CTE Program)

The foundational framework of resources for the 2018-19 implementation of Computer Science Education in DVUSD are Code.org’s courses – Computer Science Fundamentals (PreK-5), Computer Science Discoveries (Grades 6-8), and Computer Science Principles (Grades 9-12). https://code.org/educate/ Code.org offers hands-on workshops and online support. Teachers can participate in a 1day CS Fundamentals workshop where Code.org provides a hands-on intro to computer science, pedagogy, teacher dashboard, and strategies for teaching classroom activities. Code.org training will be provided in September with 2-3 spaces available for participants from each K-6 & K-8 campus in DVUSD. Trainings are also offered in the community and can be coordinated by campuses. Additionally teachers can personally try a course to learn ahead of students and setup a teacher account that will provide them access to lesson plans, teacher forums, and resources. Computer Science extension resources have also been identified by the DVUSD Computer Science Education Committee. In the spring each K-6 & K-8 campus had the opportunity to apply for a mini-grant allocation to obtain extension resources. More details about availability of these resources and specialized training will be communicated directly to recipient campuses. DEER VALLEY VOICE – AUGUST 3, 2018

NEW FOR 2018 - 2019!

AZMERIT/AIMS GRADE ENHANCEMENT

The AzMERIT and AIMS Science assessments provide students, teachers, and parents with information about how a student is progressing academically in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. In order to motivate students to put forth strong effort, students will now be eligible to positively impact their semester grades in courses aligned to the high school AzMERIT and AIMS Science assessments. Passing the state assessments is no longer a requirement for graduation, so the grade enhancement policy will provide an incentive for students to do well on the tests, as well as in their course of study in preparation for the assessments. Students who earn a Proficient score on an AzMERIT End of Course (EOC) assessment or a Meets The Standard on the High School AIMS Science test will be eligible to raise their final fall and spring semester course grades by one letter grade up to a B for the course aligned with the assessment. Students who earn a Highly Proficient score on an AzMERIT End of Course (EOC) assessment or an Exceeds The Standard on the High School AIMS Science test will be eligible to raise their final fall and spring semester course grades by one letter grade up to an A for the course aligned with the assessment. For more information, click: https://url.dvusd.org/8ba5d4d1. For a slideshow overview: https://url.dvusd.org/1e9856f5.

NEW STRATEGIC PLAN! Deer Valley is excited to launch our NEW Strategic Plan. Based on input from hundreds of stakeholders, the Strategic Plan will guide us in our improvement goals for the next 5 years. The 4 Key Priorities that will remain the focus of our work: ● Excellence in Student Learning ● Excellence in Workforce Performance ● Excellence in Stakeholder Relationships ● Excellence in Organizational Improvement & Accountability As part of our new plan, we are happy to share our new Core Values. We are looking to RAISE the bar this year with exceptional character.

DEER VALLEY VOICE – AUGUST 3, 2018

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION – ACCORDING TO TWITTER!

And… in case you missed this very special Tweet from graduation, when a DVHS student gets out of his wheel chair and walks to receive his diploma!

EDUCATOR DEALS & DISCOUNTS Click here for the Educator Deals & Discounts page on the portal. We update it whenever a local business offers a deal! DEER VALLEY VOICE – AUGUST 3, 2018

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR DV STARS OF THE MONTH MARCH: Dawn Holtmann, Accounting Clerk, Desert Sage, Sandra Day O’Connor Region; Eric Hernandez, Plant Foreman, Terramar, Mountain Ridge Region; Heather Majors, Instructor Assistant OCR, Desert Sky MS, Deer Valley Region; Summer Stout-Bloyer, Speech Language Pathologist, Student Support Services, District Office Region; Kerry Brothers, Teacher, Canyon Springs, Boulder Creek Region; Esther Skinner, Teacher, Barry Goldwater HS, Barry Goldwater Region APRIL: Susan Perreault, Secretary, Sandra Day O’Connor, Sandra Day O’Connor Region; John Beamesderfer, Custodian, Copper Creek, Mountain Ridge Region; Deborah Goodridge, Teacher, Mountain Shadows, Deer Valley Region; Steve Segovia, Mechanic, Transportation, District Office Region; Tessie Dyresen, Teacher, Desert Mountain, Boulder Creek Region; Michele Balsamo, Teacher, Park Meadows, Barry Goldwater Region Nominate a District employee for a DV Star by visiting this page on the Portal located on our Portal Home Page - Under QuickFind. Thanks to our DV Star Sponsor Grand Canyon University. See their flyer on page 6 of this newsletter.

A DV Funny!

Have an #Extraordinary school year! Follow DVUSD on Twitter & Twitter at these links:

@dvusd DEER VALLEY VOICE – AUGUST 3, 2018

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DEER VALLEY VOICE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AUGUST 3, 2018