A message from the Superintendent

GESD Team Members:

It is hard to believe we are down to the last couple of days of the 2015-16 school year. I am sure everyone is ready for a well-deserved break to relax and to rejuvenate for the coming school year. Although we continue to face challenges, we cannot deviate from the work we need to engage in to raise the academic performance of all GESD students. Challenges should be viewed as challenges and not barriers to student academic success.

When you’re so profoundly involved in your daily work, it’s hard to appreciate all that you do for your students. But we see it every day, in many different ways, and we are so very grateful for everything you do that makes your students feel valued, and your commitment to success for all students. Your continued loyalty and service to GESD and the children and community we serve is deeply appreciated. Your confidence and participation in the work we are engaged in make a difference for our children and their families.

We are on the right path and are engaging in the right work. Although there is still much to do, this may be a good time to reflect on what we have accomplished this year:

• We anticipate that the Governing Board will approve providing pay increases at its meeting Thursday night, including raising the starting salary for all employees.
• In addition, $325 will be added to the base salary of all employees.
• Performance pay was increased from $1,500 to $1,800.
• Most employees will see no increases in employee benefits premiums.
• Developed and recommended policy change that will allow employees to sell back some accrued leave during the middle and end of each school year.
• Developed and recommended policy change that will allow employees to two opportunities per year to qualify for salary adjustments.
• We have made progress towards our goals of providing a guaranteed and viable curriculum.
• Eliminated combination classrooms.
• Moved towards curricular continuity across district schools through the use of District Pacing Guides and aligned resources.
• Continue to improve our instructional practices to align with College and Career Readiness Standards.
• Implemented a balanced assessment plan to better understand and improve student learning.
• Continue to refine job embedded professional development aligned to school improvement efforts.
• Continue to provide support to increase the effectiveness of collaborative teams.
• Provided some schools principal coaching.  The model will expand this year to provide coaching for all schools.
• Assigned schools support teams to assist with continuous improvement.
• Continue to explore and implement strategies to control costs in all areas.
• Have tripled the number of school and district partnerships with businesses and other community members.
• Established minimum standards for parent and community engagement at all District Schools.  Those standards will be raised.
• Working with individuals sites to adjust master schedules to create more collaborative meeting time.
• We are investigating cost savings ideas with neighboring districts (sharing warehouse space, sharing resources, etc.).
• Continue to address building and facility needs. Several renovation projects will occur this summer.
• Saw pockets of student achievement growth, based on benchmark assessments, throughout the District.

These are just some of our accomplishments this school year, and we look forward to working with you to do even more next year.

Best wishes for a restful, safe, and pleasant summer break. Please take time to do some of the things you enjoy that bring a joyful spirit to your heart and mind. You deserve it!

Joe

A 123 FAQ

We've been getting a lot of questions since the passage of Proposition 123. Listed below are the most frequently asked.

Q:  What base pay will be used if someone moved positions during the 15-16 school year?  

A:  The increase will be allocated on your base salary of where you were the majority of the 15-16 school year (50% plus 1 day). 

Q:  If someone resigned at some time during the year, will they get any money? If so, how is it calculated?  Does it matter how they resigned?

A:  Only employees who are still actively employed through the end of their work calendars and/or the date the Governing Board approves increases based on the successful passage of Proposition 123 will be eligible for increases.

Q:  Will employees who are out on FMLA get any money?

A:  Employees who are out on approved leave (FMLA) status through the end of their work calendars and/or at the time the Governing Board takes action on increases due to Proposition 123 will receive increases based on hours/days paid during the current fiscal year.

Q:  If an employee was hired at any point during the school year do they get any increase?  If so, how is it calculated?

A:  Employees hired during the 2015-16 fiscal year will receive a two percent increase prorated from their hire date.

Q:  If someone worked part of the year as a sub and then hired as an employee do you count the time they were the sub?

A:  No, the increase would be retroactive to the date the employee was hired into a non-substitute position.

Q: Will we be issued new contracts that reflect the raises?
A: Following Governing Board approval we will issue letters with an addendum that lists the new salary.

Q:  Who do we direct questions to?

A:  Jim Cummings

Reading adoption committee will begin work this summer

Starting this summer, we will be undergoing the process of requesting reading curricular resource materials for examination. To ensure all stakeholders have access to these materials, they will be available at each campus and at the district office for analysis and feedback.

A reading adoption committee has been created and the following is the make-up of the committee:

• 34 teachers (a diverse group of General Education, Special Education, Gifted and ELD teachers)
• 3 Site-based Literacy Achievement Advisors
• 2 Principals
• 1 Assistant Principal
• 1 Special Education Achievement Advisor
• 1 ELD Achievement Advisor
• 1 Parent
• 1 Coordinator for Literacy
• 1 Director for Curriculum and Instruction

The reading adoption committee members were selected by their site administration and will be tasked with ensuring information is shared to and from their campuses.

Questions regarding the reading adoption process can be directed to the site representatives.

The overall timeline of the adoption process is:

Questions regarding the reading adoption process can be directed to the site representatives.

All about pay dates, getting more pay and calendar adjustments

Notice to all employees who receive live paychecks 

Beginning June 2 through July 30, the Payroll Department will mail all live paychecks to employees at their address on file UNLESS they notify Payroll IN WRITING to hold their check in the Payroll office. All employees should verify through iVisions that their contact information is current. 

Employees who receive direct deposit will continue to do so. 

Last Pay

Last pay will follow the regular payroll schedule. If your last day is May 27, you will receive your last pay on June 16. If your last day is June 6, you will receive your last pay on June 30. 

Calendar

Adjustments have been made to the 2016-17 calendar.

Specifically, parent/teacher conferences now align with the end of instructional periods and report card distribution. In addition, the all-day professional development day that was originally scheduled in January will now take place on Feb. 8.

The start and end of school, holidays and breaks all remain the same. You can see a copy of the calendar here. 

Saying Goodbye to Subfinder . . .

Aesop has been selected as the new absence reporting and substitute call out system for GESD employees effective July 1. In the next few weeks, the Human Resources office will send an email to all employees with directions on how to access the new system. 

All absences approved in Subfinder up until June 30^th will be manually entered into the new system. Absences entered July 1^st must be entered by the employee into Aesop.

Professional Growth for Certified Staff

REMINDER: Transcripts must be submitted to Human Resources no later than June 15 to qualify for salary advancement for the 2016-2017 school year.

Help us take the next step as we build a Guiding Coalition

When we returned for the 2015-16 school year, we reviewed the progress we made as a District and discussed the need to intensify our focus on improving student learning. Over the summer we worked to identify frameworks, create structures, and make collective commitments focused on improving student achievement. These frameworks and structures will include teachers working collaboratively in teams to engage in work which will contribute to increased student learning.

Part of the work we engaged in has included implementing key practices (writing and using common assessments, planning curriculum, making decisions based on data, use of pacing guides, etc.). As we review our data, we are seeing growth from first quarter benchmark to second quarter benchmark. Our next steps will include training on how to increase our use of data to progress monitor students to identify those who need additional support and then intervene in a timely and appropriate manner. This critical next step will help us see more progress in the area of student learning. 

The development and implementation of a Guiding Coalition will help us with this next step and some of the additional work we need to do. Kotter and DuFour describe a Guiding Coalition as:

• An alliance of key members of an organization who are specifically charged to lead a change process through predictable turmoil;
• Members of the alliance should have shared goals and high levels of trust;
• But the principal must be the champion for the belief and its most vocal supporter.

The three keys to building a Guiding Coalition are:

1. Choose the right people: People with strong position power, broad experience, high credibility, and real leadership skill.
2. "Grow" the Coalition strategically — Diversity of views and voices.
3. Work as a team, not just a collection of individuals.  Do the real work together, share a vision and commitment.

The first steps toward developing and implementing a Guiding Coalition include sending teachers from each school to the Professional Learning Communities Summit being held here in Phoenix. 

We are asking for your support to provide this opportunity to a large number of our teachers by working with your principals to cover classrooms and other duties during those two and a half days.  As a token of our appreciation for your support, individuals who pitch in to make this happen will receive the gift of time the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb 3.  Your site administrators will share the details. 

We know everyone is working hard and appreciate the time and effort you dedicate to improving the academic achievement of all students. We know this is not easy work, but as I shared earlier, we are seeing growth.  Our students can and will continue to accelerate their learning and we will see this growth intensify as we continue to refine our Professional Learning Communities’ framework. 

Please see your site administrator or feel free to contact me if you have questions regarding this message.

Sincerely,

Joe Quintana