March 2023 Staff Newsletter

March 2023 S

A Message from Superintendent, Dr. Dana Monogue

MCPASD Colleagues:

We have arrived at spring break! M wish for you is that you find time t rest, relax, recharge, and rejuvena in a way that is most effective for y Upon our retur l ' i work together a so that our stud healthy, and pr 2022-2023 scho

Thank you for a

With fondness,

Dr. Dana E. Monogue, Superintenden

Must Know On The Go

On a time crunch? Check out this page for all your 'need to know' information this month. We invite you to read further when you are able to check out all of the awesome things happening within our District!

Key Dates

MCPASD Vaccine Clinics

April 12, 2023

3:30-7:30 p.m.

Kromrey Middle

April 18, 2023

3:30-7:30 pm

Glacier Creek Middle

4, 2023

Teaching And Learning Updates Section Added To The Monthly

Learn more about all things 'Teaching and Learning' on page 9. This will now be a new, permanent section of the staff newsletter.

DEADLINE EXTENDED | 2023 Education Foundation

Inspiration Grant Application

As a reminder, the 2023 inspiration grant application is accepting applications until April 12, 2023. Learn more on page 4. Click here to view the application.

Utilizing Thrillshare For Email Correspondence With Families

Many TDS users are not able to receive emails from Infinite Campus. All school-wide and district-wide emails will be sent to ensure our families are informed using Thrillshare Technology has not received feedback from staff that their emails are not reaching their families, so you can still use Infinite Campus Learn more on page 5

MCPASD Celebrates Women's History Month

MCPASD is fortunate to have many outstanding women in our community During Women's History Month, we want to share an extra special thank you to the women who are our friends, colleagues, and leaders for their service to our district and community!

Mr. Peanuts Is Named A Finalist For Custodian Of the Year

Congratulations to Rodney “Mr. Peanuts” Esser, custodian at Park Elementary School, for being a finalist in the national 2023 Custodian of the Year contest sponsored by Cintas Corporation. This contest recognizes custodians for all they do to help provide students with a clean and safe environment!

We need your help to get Mr.Peanuts enough votes for him to win the title of 2023 Custodian Of The Year! The winner will receive $10,000 cash, $5,000 in Cintas and Rubbermaid products, and training valued up to $30,000 from ISSA. New this year, the Top 3 finalists will also win an allexpense paid trip to Las Vegas!

Voting ends Friday, April 14. The finalist with the most public votes will receive the grand prize, valued at over $45,000.

Click here to vote

School Lunch Delivery Update

Due to staffing shortages and truck delivery times, lunch orders placed in My Payments Plus must be submitted by 8:15 am for same-day delivery You can always order in advance too if that works better for you!

Title IX Training

During a recent professional development day, staff had the opportunity to attend a seminar led by MCPASD Attorney Tess O'Brien-Heinzen regarding Title IX protocols and manditory reporting. For those unable to attend, click here to view the slideshow presentation.

Reminder | 2023 Education Foundation Inspiration Grant Applications are Open

The Education Foundation Inspiration Grants support MCPASD teachers and staff, offering inspiring learning opportunities to students in the district and also supporting efforts to create equitable access to those inspiring opportunities.

All teachers and staff in the district are encouraged to submit applications. Grants range from $250 to $2,500 and can cover the full cost of a project or partial costs The Foundation has awarded over $130,000 to 130 grant winners since 2013. The Foundation is looking to fund grants that are inclusive, innovative and inspiring. If you have a great idea, consider applying today!

Click here to view the application.

In Memory And Friendship...

MCPASD would like to honor the memory of our friends and colleagues, Stephen Miller and Dan Relph. We thank them for their many years of service to our District and the joy they brought to our students and fellow staff. We wish their families peace during this difficult time.

Dan Relph Middleton High School

Steven Miller Kromrey Middle School

Click here to view the live recording

MCPASD Spring Vaccination Clinic

The 2023 Spring Vaccine Clinic is available to all members of our community

April 12, 2023 | 3:30-7:30pm

Kromrey Middle School Cafetorium

Transportation is available for families from 5-7pm

April 18, 2023 | 3:30-7:30pm

Glacier Creek Middle School Cafetorium

Communication and signup for vaccination and transportation appointments to follow

Staff Engagement Survey Coming Soon

Keep an eye on your email for the 2022-23 Staff Engagement Survey coming soon. More information will be provided in April

Staff Recognition Events

In response to staff feedback, we are excited to share a reminder that we have two separate staff recognition events:

District Wide Communications To Be Sent Exclusively Through Thrillshare

We have recently been informed that many of our TDS users have not received district-wide or school-wide messages sent through Infinite Campus To ensure that our families and staff receive important information, all messages sent district-wide or school-wide will now be sent through our website servicer, Thrillshare. Please note that this is only for school-wide and district-wide emails.

Technology has not received feedback from staff that their emails are not reaching their families, so you can still use Infinite Campus. If you are having issues, please submit a helpdesk ticket

2023 Substitute teacher of the year nominations

Nominate Teachers On Call substitutes who are doing amazing work in your schools. Four winners will receive a $5,000 bonus, plus an additional $1,500 to donate to a school or early childhood center in which they work.

To honor the important work of all substitute employees, the Substitute Educator of the Year program recognizes substitutes in four categories:

K-12 Substitute Teacher

PreK or Early Childhood Substitute Teacher

Paraeducator

Non-Instructional Support Staff

Click here to nominate a substitute. Nominations are due by March 27, 2023!

Brian Miles announced as Director of Technology

Our District is thrilled to announce Brian Miles as our new Director of Technology! Miles has been with our District for 16 years. He started his career as a Special Education Paraprofessional at Glacier Creek in 2007.

Since then, he has held different positions, including Technology Integrator, Computer Literacy and Computer Science Teacher, and Instructional Coach and New Teacher Mentor.

Miles received his B.A. in Social Studies Education from Purdue and his M.A. in Education from Viterbo University. Brian loves Cross Country Skiing, Mountain Biking and spending time outdoors in his free time

You Deserve a Shout!

A Great Way To Make New Employees Feel Welcome

Shout out to Ken Metz, Mary Summers Kern, Andrew Washicheck, and Jamie Vandermause (not pictured) for making this slide show for their new hires It has all the information they need about the school, staff, and tools to get them started. This is a great example of a resource for new staff that is quick and easy to reference!

Digging Into Great Ideas

At MCPASD our staff is always finding new ways to make work even more fun!

Food & Nutrition Services Team Member Kate Sharp went above and beyond for her monthly door design at the West Middleton Elementary kitchen!

In honor of School Breakfast week, she decided to play on the term 'dig in' and bring the kitchen door to life!

Shout out to Kate for bringing a little extra joy and creativity to our day!

You Deserve a Shout!

Clark Street Community School Principal Co-Authors A Chapter In A New Academic Studies Book

Congratulations to Jill Gurtner on her success and hard work that went into co-authoring a chapter in 'Schools of Opportunity: 10 Research-Based Models of Equity in Action.' Jill was nominated and supported by former UW-Madison Professor Julie Mead. Each chapter in the book is a deep dive into one of the ten Schools of Opportunity criteria based on The National Education Policy Center.

Her chapter is titled 'Meet the Needs of Students With Disabilities in an Environment That Ensures Challenge and Support' and features a significant amount of data and research based on Clark Street Community School's curriculum and community One focus of the chapter explains examples of how success can be defined far beyond traditional test scores.

Fun fact: Clark Street was nominated twice as a 'school of opportunity' to be featured in the book and is the only gold-level school in the state of Wisconsin!

Click here to learn more or purchase the book.

The DSC Has The Luck Of The Irish

The Razzle Dazzle Committee at the District Services Center is always thinking of fun activities to brighten our day! Recently they celebrated St. Patrick's Day with lots of fun games, including "find out your inner leprechaun name " The winner with the best name won the 'jackpot' and was named king/queen of the leprechauns!

TouchingBaseWith Teachingand Learning

Dear MCPASD staff,

It is my pleasure to write this first update about the work our Teaching and Learning department has been engaged in A new team called the Teaching and Learning Workgroup was established. This team will be designing a three-year professional development plan. We want to ensure that this professional development is not a series of events but it is part of a well-thought out approach to adult learning, aligned to our strategy map priorities, and “transformational” in nature.

This team received periodic updates from the work of two other teams: the Multi-Layered Systems of Support (MLSS) workgroup and the Cycles of Curricular Adoptions workgroup. We want to ensure coherence and alignment across teams. Thank you for the work you do with our students and families! It is noticed and appreciated.

MessageFromSilvia

The Teaching & Learning team has been working with principals to understand our next steps in professional development to create a three-year professional development. The primary focus on professional development is literacy/biliteracy The team understands that “district PD” may not be the best term to move forward with.

Terms like “ common learning” or “universal learning” planned with our level partners and implemented at the building level will be the primary focus of the work moving forward We continue to thank principals and instructional coaches (and others) who work hard in helping to deliver meaningful, student-focused professional development!

3-Year PD Plan

TouchingBaseWith Teachingand Learning

Multi-layered Systems of Support (MLSS)

Teams at each level have been working on updating our Multi-Layered Systems of Support

We have updated our theory of action and guiding beliefs. We are in the process of updating our systems and structures and will then focus on updating our menus of interventions and supports We intend to complete our review and updates to share district-wide by the end of the school year for implementation in the fall of 2023.

Cycles for Curricular Renewal

A small team has been formed to begin revising the curriculum adoption process. This group will be using a variety of feedback loops as it works to create a useful and sustaining curriculum adoption cycle Look for more information and opportunities to provide input this spring!

Elementary Education

Our elementary focus has been on two areas: meaningful professional development and recalibrating our work

In the area of professional development, we have focused on our literacy development within the context of Optimal Learning Environments The PD that has been developed around Shifting the Balance has been very meaningful and is laying the groundwork for continued literacy learning.

Our work recalibration is around resuming our social studies renewal process and relaunching our standards-based report cards. For social studies, we are focused on learning about inquiry-based social studies to offer a more equitable and integrated approach to learning for students We redeveloped our standards-based report cards and are grateful to everyone who contributed to the development of the work.

TouchingBaseWith Teachingand Learning

Secondary Education

At the middle level, we have been focused on two main themes: standards-based grading work and learning high-leverage literacy practices to apply in classrooms (vocabulary development and building background knowledge) At the high school level, we continue to work on determining priority standards, creating common summative assessments, and embedding literacy work into department-driven inquiry cycles.

Special Education

We have contracted with a non-profit research, development, and service agency, WestEd, to objectively analyze our organizational, fiscal, and universal structures to improve student outcomes. The result of this analysis will be recommendations regarding the effectiveness and the opportunities for growth of our special education services Multiple data points will be collected this spring, including classroom observations, interviews, focus groups, surveys, IEP reviews, and review of available financial and program data. Surveys went out to all buildings in March Focus groups and site visits will take place in April

Student Services

Our MCPASD psychologists, social workers, and counselors recently attended a two-day PREPaRE II training. PREPaRE II focuses on crisis intervention and recovery. Our entire student services department continues to further develop our skills and knowledge in addressing student mental health needs, especially given the increased needs coming out of the pandemic.

Our District Social Emotional Learning (SEL) team is focused on aligning district practices to the DPI SEL standards. It will continue to expand universal approaches and practices to meet all our learners' needs.

TouchingBaseWith Teachingand Learning

Bilingual Services

Our Two-Way Immersion program continues to grow year by year! This year, our oldest cohort of students is in 5th grade at Kromrey Middle School, and while we continue to support that team with a successful launch year, we are also preparing for 6th grade and beyond.

Our K-12 bilingual resource team is working diligently to support our brilliant multilingual learners and staff across the district as we seek to become more linguistically attentive in our instruction. We are also working on re-examining our MLSS structures as they relate to multilingual learners and digging more deeply into our ACCESS growth data as the year progresses.

Multilingual seniors at the high school level are working hard to complete the necessary requirements to earn a Wisconsin Seal of Biliteracy. This is the first year the MCPASD can be a Seal-granting district, and we are very proud of our eligible students!

Barb's Corner

A Note From Barb

Congratulations to Lori Krug, Certified Benefit Specialist, on her retirement, effective July 14, 2023! Thank you for 15 wonderful years of service to the staff at MCPASD Lori joined MCPASD on leap day, February 29, 2008. She expressed that she is so thankful for the opportunity she was given to manage the benefits for our amazing staff. When she started in the District, she was the only Benefit Specialist and was processing paper forms, and through her tenure, the Benefits department is now fully electronic. Lori created the Benefits Website and other media resources.

She appreciates all the support the District has given her Lori has been capturing 15 years ' worth of knowledge and experience into a well-prepared guide to help us carry on with what we ' ve established in the Benefits area. We are in a great position thanks to Lori's preparation and planning.

Lori has plans to spend time with family in the hometown of her high school alma mater. She hopes the District will continue to grow and serve the families of the Middleton area with the excellence that we work so hard to achieve Congratulations, Lori, and we wish you well You will be missed! #WeBelieve!

Handbook Updates

The Support Staff handbook committee has concluded its formal meetings. The committee will continue to share feedback as iterations of draft language are shared. We were able to cover the major topics in 6 meetings We appreciate their work and dedication to this vital process Thank you, Diane Austin, Laurie Bragg-Valaskey, Vicky Dohmeier, Jill Enerson, Brian Goucher, Amy Gundeck, Lisa Hellenbrand, Todd Matuszak, Yolanda McCowan-Burkeland, and Kathie Prihoda, for giving up your personal time and evenings! Jerrud and I very much appreciate all of you! Your perspective, experience, and insight were invaluable!

The Certified Staff handbook committee continues to meet We have reviewed time off, school calendar and schedule, compensation philosophy, salary, and other payments. Our next meeting is on April 5th, which is open to the public. The next meeting will review Postings, Assignments, and Transfers and Evaluations

Teacher Roundtables

Teacher Roundtable meets on March 16th We will be discussing the impact of the staffing shortages, especially around the shortage of substitutes and the implications for special education.

Open Interview Event | April 19, 2023 From 5:30-7:30

Following the great success of our Fall Open Interview Event, MCPASD has decided to host a Spring Open Interview Event. Interested applicants are welcome to the District Services Center on April 19th to learn more about positions available across our district, including both administrative and support positions.

Partner Accountability Wellness Program Starts Again In April And May!

A well-being accountability program in which employees are partnered with another employee to make healthy changes to their lives will run for April and May. Partners will choose a new goal each month and develop a plan to reach that goal with resources and support from the district wellness program. At the end of each month, teams will submit their progress on their goal to receive entries in the end-of-the-year raffle drawing as an incentive to work hard all month They can choose which prizes to put their "tickets" or entries into each month. At the end of the year, one winner will be drawn for each award. To learn more, click here. To sign up, click here.

MCPASD Color Run

Family Fun Day is on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at Kromrey Middle School! Family Fun Day is a free event. Non-perishable food for Middleton Outreach Ministry will be accepted. The Family Fun Walk/Run will start at Kromrey Middle School at 9:00 a.m. This color run/walk focuses on getting outside and enjoying movement with family rather than competition The course will be about 1 5 miles - the perfect distance for all families! To sign up for the event, click here.

Amazing Race Sign Up Due Friday, March 24

The Amazing Race will be held on Thursday, April 20, after school

Details are here.

Sign your team of 3-5 up here (or join a team!).

Sign up is due by FRIDAY, March 24.

Dean Wellness Care Packages

Click here to view the March 2023 March Wellness Package.

Programs are open to all, regardless of insurance, unless otherwise noted. Highlights for this package include:

A Healthy Weigh to Go: A 12-week, team-based weight management program that goes beyond just nutrition and physical activity A whole-person approach with topics in all dimensions of wellness to help you achieve and maintain long-term success. The program starts Tuesday, April 11th. Get your team of five and click here to register today!

Made From Scratch: Foods On The Go March Preventive Toolkit: Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month & National Nutrition Month

Employee Benefits

MCPASD Group Life Insurance Update

If you carry MCPASD group life insurance, the new plan year starts in July, with the premiums affecting June pay cycles. There are a few things that could affect your deductions.

When you first enroll, your amount of insurance is estimated based on a projection of your earnings for the year rounded to the next higher $1,000 After the first year, your insurance amount is based on your highest prior calendar year ’ s actual earnings.

Monthly premium rates are based on the benefit amount and your age on July 1, when the plan year starts.

Under 30 - $ 05 per $1,000 of benefit

Age 30-34 - $ 06 per $1,000 of benefit

Age 35-39 - $.07 per $1,000 of benefit

Age 40-44 - $.08 per $1,000 of benefit

Age 45-49 - $ 12 per $1,000 of benefit

Age 50-54 - $ 22 per $1,000 of benefit

Age 55-59 - $.39 per $1,000 of benefit

Age 60-64 - $.49 per $1,000 of benefit

Age 65-69 - $ 57 per $1,000 of benefit

The monthly rate for Spouse and Dependent coverage is $1.60 per unit. You can carry up to two units of this coverage. One monthly premium covers all eligible dependents.

MCPASD offers Life Insurance through The Wisconsin Public Employers Group Life Insurance Program

ETF Life Insurance Program Summary

Who is eligible?

If you are eligible for Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), you qualify for the group life insurance plan.

How do I enroll?

Life insurance does not have an open enrollment period. You can enroll during the first 30 days of employment or within 30 days of a family status change event (marriage or birth in the family.)

You can apply as a late enrollee if you missed your opportunity or would like to increase your coverage. You must complete an Evidence of Insurability form, which could be denied The form has a section that needs to be completed by the employer, so please contact your benefits specialist (Lori Krug, Certified Staff, or Chris Acker, Support Staff) if you are interested

Employee Personnel

Learn More About Coaching and Student Support Opportunities

Do you want to coach or help with extra-curricular activities at our schools?

Within the district, there are various opportunities to volunteer and/or receive extra compensation to coach and lead our students. There are after-school clubs and sports teams that want your help!

We post available paid positions on WECAN throughout the year! Currently, we have immediate coaching opportunities for Track & Field at MHS! Check out WECAN for all vacancies.

Skyward Tip/Trick Of The Month | How To See If You Have Any Late Unsubmitted Time Sheets

Sign in to Skyward, and if you see a small yellow circle with an exclamation point in the screen ' s upper-right area, you have at least one late unsubmitted timesheet Timesheets are to be submitted to your supervisor at the end of each work week (by Monday morning at the latest). Late timesheets can cause errors in your pay, so please make every effort to submit your timesheets on time.

If you see this, you have a late unsubmitted timesheet The symbol is also a link to this late timesheet, so simply click on the yellow circleexclamation mark, and you will be taken to the area within Skyward to submit the timesheet.