Important Payroll Updates

FOR ALL STAFF

New tax withholding information for 2020…

The IRS has revised the W4 Federal Withholding Tax Exemption form. This is the form that designates how much tax is withheld on your paychecks.

Even if you do not make any updates to your W4 form, the changes the IRS is instituting as part of this new form's release may result in changes to how much is withheld for taxes in your paycheck beginning in January of 2020. The payroll department is required to follow these IRS rules for calculating withholding amounts.

Please note that no action is required of any employee because of this change. Changes to the W4 form can be made at any time during the year if the employee chooses.

If you are considering changes on your W4 for 2020, please visit the IRS website and/or talk with a tax expert. The WBSD payroll department is not able to advise you on how you want to claim your federal withholding.

Below is the link to the new W4 Form with Instructions and the IRS website to look at more information.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator

Direct Deposit Changes
Any requests to change your desired direct deposit bank account before the end of the year must be received in the payroll office by Friday, December 13. Change requests received after that will not take effect until after January 1, 2020.

Switch to Optum Rx Pharmacy Carrier on January 1st

FOR EMPLOYEES ON THE DISTRICT HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN
The district will be switching pharmacy providers from Express Scripts to OptumRx effective January 1, 2020.

Please note: Members will not be able to fill prescriptions with OptumRx until the provider is active on January 1, 2020. If members are able, please fill any current prescriptions for you/your dependents prior to the end of the year to ensure you/your dependents have the medication needed at the beginning of 2020.  For prescriptions filled after January 1, please ensure that you are providing your updated insurance information to avoid delays in processing your prescriptions.

New insurance cards have been ordered and you should receive it within the next couple weeks. If you do not receive your new ID card by the new year, please contact Nicole Gruenewald at ngruenewald@wbsd-schools.org. ID cards can also be accessed and printed by signing into UMR.com and selecting ID Card from the menu on the left. You can see what this process looks like at this flyer. 

Summer School for All students, Staff Ideas and Principal Leadership Wanted!

FOR ALL STAFF
All Students
The 2020 Summer School courses for reading and math will be open to ALL students in kindergarten through seventh grade. This is a great opportunity to invite all learners to continue their academic growth in literacy and mathematics during the summer. Check out our Q&A document!

If you have questions contact Jenn Gennerman, director of continuous improvement and assessment.

Staff Ideas Wanted
Summer school is an opportunity to engage our students in continued learning and thinking. Like in years past, we are hopeful to have a variety of courses to offer our students. We are looking for additional courses to peak the interest of our students. Every course proposal will be considered. If you have ideas about co-teaching a social skills class or providing an enrichment course, please complete the course proposal form!

Click HERE to complete the course proposal. Summer School Course proposals will be accepted until January 17.

Principal Leadership Wanted
Are you an aspiring principal? Have you completed your license or are you in a program to complete your license? Are you looking for an opportunity to gain leadership experience?  If you are interested in being considered for a summer school principal role, please submit your application no later than Wednesday, January 15 using the form linked below.

2020 Summer School Site Administrator Application

Important Policy Update to Review

For ALL TEACHERS
On December 9, 2019, the West Bend School Board approved revisions to seven policies. While three of the policies were in the administration series (200), four of the revised policies are in the area of instruction. Specifically, Policy 381 Controversial Issues was discussed at the start of the school year. Staff should review the revised policy.

Conditions of all Facilities Rated

FOR…ALL STAFF

In the last two West Bend School Board Committee of the Whole meetings, we have presented a variety of facts and figures on all the facilities in the school district. Included in this information was a Facility Condition Index (FCI) for each building. These ratings will give you a good idea of how we determine the condition of each building. (The formula for FCI is included in the slides.) Review the November 18 and December 2 presentations for this information.

Monthly Pupil Services & Special Ed News

FOR ALL SPECIAL EDUCATION AND PUPIL SERVICES STAFF
Review the latest information from the department for all its staff.

Wellness Center Holiday Hours

FOR STAFF WHO WORK 20+ HOURS PER WEEK
The Wellness Center will be closed December 24, 25, 31, and January 1 in observance of the holidays.

The clinic will have reduced hours on December 26, but will be operating as normal for the rest of Christmas Break.

Virtual Clinic Provider Option Available

FOR STAFF WHO WORK 20+ HOURS PER WEEK
The Wellness Center is now piloting virtual medicine with a virtual provider system now up and running in the clinic. Check out this flyer to learn more about our virtual provider.

Use of the virtual provider is optional and will only be used if the clinic is understaffed on a particular day. If you are offered the opportunity to receive care from the virtual provider, you will have the option of declining and scheduling an appointment with a traditional in-person provider.

YMCA Weight Loss & Diabetes Prevention Opportunity

FOR ALL STAFF
The Kettle Moraine YMCA offers a year-long program called the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). It is a fantastic program for those who have goals of improved lifestyle changes, weight management, and preventing adult onset diabetes. This program is highly recommended by our providers at the Wellness Center and WBSD staff members who have participated in the past.

Because of grant funding, the class (which normally costs $125 per session) is now going to be offered for FREE through the Kettle Moraine YMCA (West Bend and Saukville locations). Sessions begin shortly after the New Year and the time to sign up for this is now. Not only is the class offered for FREE but it also comes with a FREE six-month family YMCA membership!  You can learn more about this program at this link.

SAVE THE DATE: Staff Recognition Dinner

FOR ALL STAFF
Mark your calendars! The 2020 WBSD Recognition Dinner will be Thursday, May 21 at its usual location, The Columbian in West Bend. Social hour begins at 4:30 p.m. and the program begins at 5:30 p.m. We hope you can join us to celebrate your colleagues!  Invites will go out electronically in the spring.

End-of-Year Flexible Spending Updates

FOR EMPLOYEES WITH A FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT
Under the West Bend School District's Medical Flexible Spending Plan (FSA) participants have the ability to "roll over" up to $500 into the next plan year's account to prevent a large portion of funds from being forfeited. The $500 rollover does not count toward the following year's maximum election amount ($2,750 for 2020).

The FSA plan year for 2019 ends on December 31, 2019.  Participants must submit claims for FSA reimbursement (for dates of service in calendar year 2019) no later than 90 days after the end of the plan year (March 31).

To view your current medical and dependent care FSA balance please visit the DBS website.

For claim forms and instructions please visit the Flexible Spending page on the HR Intranet.

Also, Diversified Benefits Services, the company that manages HRA and FSA reimbursements, has some deadlines for submitting claims that you should be aware of.  See this flyer for details.

Family Newsletters Are Archived on the District Website

FOR ALL STAFF
TO SEE THE LATEST FAMILY NEWSLETTER, visit our website. The district family newsletter can be found on the district website under News and Events.

Items below this post are from previous issues of the Highlighter

Timecards, Time Off Requests, & Timesheets Reminders

FOR ALL STAFF
Important Reminders

• Timesheet submissions must be completed by Monday at 5 p.m. for the previous week. 
• Supervisors are to approve the timesheet every Tuesday by 5 p.m. Our workweeks are Monday–Sunday, so for departments that may need to work on the weekends in the winter, please do not submit before Monday.
• Beginning December 2, any timesheets not submitted on time will not be pushed through by administrative assistants or the Finance Department. Rather, they WILL NOT BE PAID. Staff will still need to submit the missed timesheet and notify their supervisor, who will in-turn notify the payroll department to pay on the next scheduled pay date. 
• If TIME OFF requests are put in after timesheets are built, you need to adjust the time worked by editing it or letting your supervisor know to correct.
• During Christmastime, payday will be on December 26. All timesheets will need to be into payroll by Tuesday, December 17 at 5 p.m. There will be no exceptions due to the holiday and bank closures.

FOR TEACHERS
Time Off Requests for Teachers: Please make sure you are putting requests in TIME OFF first, checking the sub needed box if applicable, and then going on to Frontline.

If requests need to be edited or removed, you must go through the proper procedures (videos and PDFs of the procedure are on the intranet).


FOR SUPPORT STAFF
Please make sure you are putting requests in TIME OFF. If a request needs to be edited or removed, you must go through the proper procedures (videos and PDFs of the procedures are on the intranet). Staff need to be cognizant that if their request is not approved at the time of submitting timesheets, they need to contact their supervisors before submitting.

Reminder: If TIME OFF requests are put in after timesheets are built, you need to adjust the time worked by editing it or letting your supervisor know to correct.

REMINDER: Upcoming Presciption Change - Fill Your Prescriptions Before 12/31/19

FOR EMPLOYEES ON THE DISTRICT HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN
The district will switch pharmacy providers from Express Scripts to OptumRx effective January 1, 2020.

Please note: Members will not be able to fill prescriptions with OptumRx until the provider is active on January 1, 2020. If members are able, please fill any current prescriptions for you/your dependents prior to the end of the year to ensure you/your dependents have the medication needed at the beginning of 2020. For prescriptions filled after January 1, 2020, please ensure that you are providing your updated insurance information to avoid delays in processing your prescriptions.

Celebrate Our Staff!

FOR ALL STAFF

National Special Education Day is December 2! Take a moment to thank the staff in pupil services for the amazing work they do to ensure ALL students receive an outstanding education in the WBSD!

Identity Theft Assistance

FOR ALL STAFF WHO WORK 20 OR MORE HOURS PER WEEK
Employees covered under our Madison National Life Insurance policy are offered identity theft assistance services. Effective December 1, 2019, the provider for this service will be changing to ID Experts. You and your family members are covered. There is no cost and no need to sign up.


If you are a victim of identity theft, the MyIDCare Identity Theft Recovery specialists will provide concierge-style service every step of the way. Their expertise will offer peace of mind and save valuable time during this stressful process.

Just visit the website or call the phone number on this flyer if you are a victim. The attached flyer provides you with the contact information and an outline of services. Please keep this item for your records. This flyer will also be located on the HR Intranet under the Employee Assistance page. 

Skyward Down for Maintenance

FOR All STAFF
On Saturday, December 7, all Skyward Systems will be down from 3:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. to complete server software upgrades for the entire Skyward System. During this time, both Skyward Student and Skyward Finance will not be available. If you use TrueTime to punch in and out and you work on this Saturday, please mark down your times and speak with your supervisor so they can adjust your time-card.

Required Medication Training Make Up Date - December 3

FOR STAFF WHO NEED MEDICATION TRAINING
REMINDER: The Medication Training make-up session is taking place next week Tuesday, December 3 from 4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. in the West High School Cafeteria.

This training is for staff that were not able to attend the required training in August or were hired after the school year started.

If you have not yet signed up and need to, please sign up for this training through My Learning Plan(Frontline)/Activities Catalog.

If you did not complete the online video knowledge portion of the medication administration through SafeSchools yet, please do so prior to attending the make-up training.

Please contact Nicole Gruenewald with any questions.

Items below this post are from previous issues of the Highlighter

Paychecks will be Delayed if Deadline Not Met

FOR ALL STAFF
Timesheet submissions must be completed by Monday at 5 p.m. for the previous week. Supervisors are to approve the timesheet every Tuesday by 5 p.m. Our workweeks are Monday–Sunday, so for departments that may need to work on the weekends in the winter, please do not submit before Monday.

Beginning December 2, any timesheets not submitted on time will not be pushed through by administrative assistants or the Finance Department. Rather, they WILL NOT BE PAID. Staff will still need to submit the missed timesheet and notify their supervisor, who will in-turn notify the payroll department to pay on the next scheduled pay date. 

Time Off Requests for Teachers: Please make sure you are putting requests in TIME OFF first, checking the sub needed box if applicable, and then going on to Frontline.

If requests need to be edited or removed, you must go through the proper procedures (videos and PDFs of the procedure are on the intranet).

Support Staff: Please make sure you are putting requests in TIME OFF. If a request needs to be edited or removed, you must go through the proper procedures (videos and PDFs of the procedures are on the intranet). Staff need to be cognizant that if their request is not approved at the time of submitting timesheets, they need to contact their supervisors before submitting.

Reminder: If TIME OFF requests are put in after timesheets are built, you need to adjust the time worked by editing it or letting your supervisor know to correct.

Reminder #2: Because November 28 is Thanksgiving Day, paychecks will be issued on November 27. Therefore all timesheets must be into payroll by Tuesday, November 19 at 5 p.m. There will be no exceptions due to the holiday. During Christmastime, payday will be on December 26. All timesheets will need to be into payroll by Tuesday, December 17 at 5 p.m. Again, there will be no exceptions due to the holiday and bank closures.

Summer School 2020 Dates

FOR ALL STAFF
Summer School 2020 planning has begun!

Students in kindergarten through seventh grade will be offered the opportunity to attend summer school from June 15-July 10.

Students in grades eight through 12 may choose to attend summer school from June 15 to July 17. Summer school will not be in session on July 3.

Additional information will be shared in future Highlighters. Parents will be informed of dates and details via the West Bend School District Update in December.

Complete The Benefits Open Enrollment Process

FOR ALL STAFF
The window for Open Enrollment into district benefits opened on Monday. The window closes on November 22. ALL EMPLOYEES WHO WORK 20 HOURS OR MORE PER WEEK ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE OPEN ENROLLMENT PROCESS. Those employees must complete this process even if they are not making changes to their benefits or if they are declining all benefits.

Please refer to the email you received on November 6 titled "IMPORTANT: 2020 Benefits Open Enrollment Instructions" for details about how to complete this process.

REMINDER: Handbook Acknowledgements are due November 15

FOR ALL STAFF
All staff members are required to sign into My Learning Plan / Frontline and submit the handbook acknowledgment form by the end of the day on November 15. Please take the time to review the handbook and complete this important step.

Celebrate WBSD Staff Members!

FOR ALL STAFF

• November 20 is National Education Support Professionals Day! This is a day to recognize the many aides, paraprofessionals, instructional techs, clerical staff, and other support staff who help us achieve our mission each day. Without their tireless work, our district could not function. Did you know that we have roughly the same number of support staff members as we do teachers in the WBSD? 
• Congratulations to Shelly Krueger from West High School for earning the Wisconsin Profesora Distinguda award from the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. This award recognizes Shelly as the Teacher of the Year for this state-wide foreign language organization. We are so fortunate to have phenomenal teachers like Shelly in the West Bend School District. 

Substitute Teacher Updates

FOR AIDES AND TEACHING STAFF
The Human Resources Department and your school offices are always working to reduce the number of unfilled absences each day. We wanted to share some information about this topic with you:

1. BUILDING SUBS: We hire as many qualified building subs as we can get, but we currently have a posting on WECAN to help us find even more building subs. The job market is very tight right now and there are few candidates for these positions. Districts across the state are experiencing challenges filling their absences. If your building does not have a building sub right now, that is because we cannot find the ideal candidate for that position.
2. SUBSTITUTE TEACHER LICENCES: DPI will issue a substitute teacher license to anyone with at least an associate's degree. If you know anyone who would be a great fit for such a role, please forward them to Lauren Swenson in the HR office at 262-335-5402.
3. THE MORE NOTICE, THE BETTER: The "fill rate" is the percentage of substitute jobs that are filled with a sub. We want high fill rates. The sooner we can put an absence in the system, the better the fill rate. Obviously, there are many times that giving more notice is just not possible. However, if you know you are going to be absent please do everything you can to get that absence entered into the system as quickly as possible to avoid the absence being unfilled. Fill rate stats for the district this year:
1. Absences with at least 24 hours advance notice have a 93% fill rate
2. Absences with 12-24 hours notice have a 77% fill rate
3. Absences with less than 12-hour notice have a 57% fill rate
4. SUB FILL RATES: We are doing well this year filling teacher absences, but struggling with aide absences.
1. Our teacher fill rate this year is 95%
2. Our aide fill rate this year is 45%
5. LOOKING FOR AIDE SUBS: If you know of anyone who might enjoy the flexible hours of an aide sub position, only a high school diploma and a successful background check is required to qualify. Please tell anyone you know who might be interested in such a role to contact Lauren Swenson at 262-335-5402 and we can get them signed up.

Upcoming Medication Training

FOR ALL STAFF
A medication training session is being offered on Tuesday, December 3 from 4-5:30 p.m. in the West High School cafeteria. This training is for staff that were not able to attend this DPI-mandated training in August or were hired after the school year started.

If you did not complete the online video knowledge portion of the medication administration through SafeSchools yet, please do so prior to attending the skills checkoff.

You can sign up for this training using the District Catalog on My Learning Plan / Frontline.

Please contact Nicole Gruenewald with any questions at extension 51547.

WBSD Apparel Available for Purchase

FOR ALL STAFF
Per the request of employees throughout the district, WBSD apparel is now being sold via an online ordering system at this link from November 14--November 24. There is a wide range of clothing with the WBSD logo available for men and women. There are samples of some of the items available at the ESC near Deb Roensch's desk.

If you are interested in purchasing clothing items, you can select your items, place your order, and pay online. Once your order is received, a confirmation email will be sent. If you do not receive a confirmation email, your order was not submitted correctly.


Remember, the last day to order from the WBSD online store is November 24. Items will be shipped to the Education Service Center and once they are available for pick up, you will be notified.

Please note: Credit cards will not be charged and processed until November 25 when the store has closed.

ARTICLES BELOW THIS POST ARE FROM PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE HIGHLIGHTER

Recognizing Our Staff

FOR ALL STAFF
November gives us a chance to celebrate a number of important members of the WBSD team, such as:

• November 11 is Veterans Day! You may not be aware, but the WBSD is home to many
  
  employees who are also veterans of the United States Armed Forces. We are extremely grateful to these brave men and women who served our country in uniform and now serve our community's children as part of the WBSD team. THANK YOU VETERANS!
• November 4 is National Coach Appreciation Day! Take this opportunity to thank a coach you see doing great work for our students. Employees who also coach devote a great deal of time to go above and beyond to provide ways for our students to develop and highlight their talents in athletics and other co-curricular areas.
• November 8 is National STEM Day! Our STEM teachers inspire kids to pursue and explore their interests in science, technology, engineering, and math. Opening these doors to our students helps prepare them for the innovative opportunities that the 21st-century workplace will provide. Thank you to our STEM teachers!
• November 10 is National Accounting Day! Let's recognize the men and women in our fabulous Finance Department for the behind-the-scenes work they do to manage our nearly $100 million budget. This small team of committed WBSD employees work hard every day to make sure our staff and students have the resources allocated to make the magic happen in our classrooms!
• November 11-15 is National Psychology Awareness Week! This is a chance for us to recognize our school psychologists for the work they do to support teachers, students, and families in the WBSD. We truly could not provide the high level of programming we do without their hard work!

We also have a number of WBSD team members celebrating some impressive milestones in November, including:

Celebrating 5 years in the district

• Gerald Wiese - East & West High Schools

Celebrating 20 years in the district

• Dawn Goralski - East & West High Schools
• Jeannine Beilman - ESC
• Justine Jung - Jackson

Celebrating 25 years in the district

• Elisa Spaeth - East & West High Schools

Two Professional Growth Opportunities in Outdoor Learning

FOR ALL TEACHERS
The WBSD is fortunate to have an Outdoor Classroom, the 36-acre registered school forest that is located off Decorah Road just east of the high schools. West Bend classes can visit this area for authentic interdisciplinary learning experiences. To support access to learning at the outdoor classroom and to enhance your opportunities to lead students in natural study in the school-yard, two wonderful professional growth opportunities are offered free of charge to West Bend teachers.

Project Learning Tree, LEAF, and KEEP will offer two workshops right at our Outdoor Classroom to enhance your knowledge base and your students' opportunities. Please click HERE to get more details on how to sign up for Project Learning Tree and Forest Health and the Energy Connection (LEAF and KEEP).

West Bend teachers can attend for free and will receive free resources. Special thanks to Rachel Feerick, scientist in residence, for arranging this wonderful opportunity.

Opportunity for Students to Display Their Talent

FOR ALL STAFF
All West Bend students are invited to participate in the 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. art, speech, and writing contests sponsored by the Marcus Corporation, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee Brewers, WeEnergies, and the MTEA.

This is a great opportunity for students to share their talents and their vision. All entries in the art, speech, or writing contests must incorporate the theme: Your Life has Significance.

 All Entries are due on November 11, 2019. Follow this link for more information.

Opportunity for Dialogue

FOR ALL EDUCATORS
You are invited to join in a dialogue exploring how educators can be more culturally responsive in our practice. The series of discussions will take place monthly beginning December 11 as we explore how we can collectively and collaboratively produce global citizens from the WBSD system who are ready for the world beyond Washington County. Text and/or video will be supplied prior to each meeting for you to engage with, which will allow you to come prepared to have productive discourse with your peers in a safe environment. Each dialogue will begin at 4:30 p.m. and last one hour in the ESC Boardroom on the following dates: December 11, January 9, February 5, April 16, and May 5.

More information and the opportunity to sign up is located on My Learning Plan.

Time to Change Your Password

FOR All STAFF

As discussed in the last Highlighter, strong passwords are essential to a strong Cybersecurity Plan. To help with strong passwords and to get in the habit of changing passwords on a yearly basis, we will be requiring all users to change their network/computer login passwords beginning November 12.

On the morning of November 12, when you log-in to a computer, you will be required to change your password. Your new password must be a minimum of 14 characters, include three numbers and one special character. Once you change your computer password it will also update your Google account to that new password. This means that you will be asked to enter your new password into your Google account on every device you use to access Google. Also as a reminder, your network/computer login password is the same password you use with Canvas and ARCHIBUS (the maintenance work order system). This means these will now require your new password.

If you are looking for a secure way to store passwords, 

please create an account with LastPass using your school district email address.

Snowy Weather is Here

FOR ALL STAFF

Winter is just around the corner! As an employee, do you know what to do if school gets canceled or delayed? Please take the time to review the Emergency School Closure section of your Employee Handbook and login to Employee Access/Skyward Finance to ensure all of your contact information is up to date and accurate. The "all-call" system contacts employees based on the contact information listed in this profile. Please refer to the How-to Guide if you need help updating this information.

School Board Approves Budget, Tax Levy, Mill Rate

FOR ALL STAFF
At the West Bend School Board meeting on October 28, the board approved the 2019-2020 school district budget, which includes establishing the tax levy and mill rate.

There was a change in the initial budget presented in September. The total amount to be paid for the Wisconsin Parental Choice Voucher Program is double from the 2018-2019 school year. Therefore, the school board voted on October 28 to approve a change to decrease the amount of debt payoff in 2019-2020 to keep the mill rate the same as last year. Review the meeting recap and a press release on the approved budget.

Reminder: 2020 Benefits Open Enrollment Begins Soon

Over the past couple of weeks, HR has been holding building hours to complete benefits meetings with staff. We still have a couple sites to visit and an evening sign up on November 4. If you wish to meet in person to discuss your benefit options, please click here to SIGN-UP.

FOR EMPLOYEES WHO WORK 20 OR MORE HOURS PER WEEK
The 2020 Open Enrollment period is scheduled from Monday, November 11 - Friday, November 22, 2019. The process for completing open enrollment will not change from last year.  Instructions for completing the online open enrollment process will be sent the week of November 4. Please watch for these details and your reminder postcard that is being sent via postal mail.

PLEASE NOTE: ALL staff who work 20 or more hours per week MUST go through the open enrollment process even if you do not currently have benefits or you do not wish to make changes to your current benefits. This is our record that you were offered the opportunity to enroll in/change your benefits during the open enrollment period.  

The Mobile Mammogram is Back

FOR ALL STAFF
The Columbia St. Mary's Mobile Mammogram Service will be available to WBSD staff on the following dates:

• November 6, 2019 - ESC parking lot from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• November 12, 2019 - High schools parking lot near the athletics offices: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

If you participated in this service last year you may be told at the time of scheduling through Columbia St. Mary's that the dates are scheduled for one day earlier than they were last year and that you must check to ensure the mammogram will be covered by your insurance. This has been verified with your insurance plan and there will NOT be an issue for coverage if scheduled.
If you would like to schedule a mobile mammogram, please call the Columbia St. Mary's scheduling line at 4140326-1800.
These appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. Each year, this is a very well attended event and appointment spaces are limited.

If you have any questions, please call the WBSD Wellness Center at 262-306-5200. Thank you.

Benefit Payroll Deductions

FOR STAFF WHO WORK 20 OR MORE HOURS PER WEEK
The HR/Business Office departments have been reviewing the process for benefit payroll deductions.  As employees may have experienced, there are times throughout the year such as summer break or school recess periods when payroll has had to increase your benefit deductions to cover your monthly benefit costs. This is a very cumbersome process with room for error and also negatively impacts net pay during these time frames. To minimize this, the HR/Business Office will be annualizing deductions for specific employee groups who receive less than 24 paychecks each year.

This change will be implemented effective January 1, 2020. During the open enrollment window from November 11-22, employees who are impacted by this change will see their premiums annualized for calendar year 2020 when completing their enrollment.

Teachers who elect to be paid over 10 months or were hired after the school began will be on a 20 benefit deduction schedule. All support staff who work 10 months will have a 16 benefit deduction schedule. Your benefit deduction schedule is determined by your primary employee group. Employees who are paid on a 12-month basis will not be affected by this change.

Click here to view the benefit payroll deduction schedule for 2020. Again, this change only impacts when your benefit deductions take place. If you are an hourly employee, you will still be paid based on the payroll schedule for any hours worked.

Below is an example of how a health benefit deduction will be reflected in 2020. All other benefit deductions will be calculated using this same method.

Items below this post are from previous issues of the Highlighter

Celebrate Your Efforts to Be Safe

FOR ALL STAFF
In most school districts, injury caused by student interactions is the number one cause of worker’s compensation claim expenses. That is NOT true in the WBSD. Thanks to de-escalation skills, high-quality training, and careful attention of our staff, we are the exception to this trend.

Thank you to everyone who plays a role in training staff in de-escalation techniques like NVCI and trauma-informed care. Thank you to all staff for your skillful ability to calm students and maintain the safest possible environment for students and staff. The level of sensitivity to challenging student situations is making a real difference in the overall safety of all colleagues.

Employee Compensation Update

FOR ALL STAFF
Please see the document at this link for an update on these topics

• Teacher compensation
• Support staff compensation
• CLS & system professional ladder

Pharmacy moving to Optum RX

FOR EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE

As stated in the last edition of the Highlighter, the district recently completed a review of pharmacy providers. Based on this review, the district will switch its pharmacy provider from Express Scripts to OptumRx effective January 1, 2020.

With the decision to switch pharmacy providers, the district will experience additional costs savings that can be passed onto employees through a lower-than-market-average insurance premium increase. For 2020, the district’s premiums will increase by 5-6%, while the market average is 8-10%. OptumRx is a provider under UMR, which means members will have a single point of contact for any medical or prescription drug questions.

What does this mean for you?

• The tiered system of employee drug costs ($10/$30/$45) will not change.
• Employees will have continued access to all of the same level of care and drug options:
• Any mailorder prescriptions that you have with Express Scripts at the end of 2019 will be transferred to OptumRx.
• You will still be able to fill any prescriptions you are currently prescribed under the current cost structure ($10/$30/$45).
• For prescriptions filled at a retail pharmacy, beginning 1/1/2020 you will need to provide the pharmacy your updated pharmacy insurance information that can be found on your 2020 health insurance ID card. Those ID cards will be sent after the open enrollment period ends. HR will send a notification to you when those cards are on the way. Make sure you have your address up to date in Skyward Finance as that is where the cards will be sent.
• For newly prescribed maintenance medications, members will be allowed to fill two prescriptions at a retail pharmacy. After those two fills, maintenance medications will be required to be filled through mail order. 

The HR department will be working with OptumRx over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition between providers.

Benefits Open Enrollment

FOR ALL STAFF THAT WORK 20 OR MORE HOURS PER WEEK

Please save the date for the 2020 Open Enrollment period scheduled from Monday, November 11 - Friday, November 22.

There a few benefit changes for 2020. Here is an overview of the changes occurring effective January 1, 2020:

• Dental: Members will still be allowed to visit either a PPO or Premier Provider through Delta Dental. If you visit a PPO provider, you will not experience any changes to your current coverage. If you visit a Premier Provider, beginning in 2020 there will be a change to the deductible and annual maximum benefit. 
• Individual Annual Maximum Benefit: $2,000 with PPO / $1,500 with Premier
• Individual Deductible: $0 with PPO / $25 with Premier
• Family Deductible: $0 with PPO / $75 with Premier
• District pharmacy provider will be changing from Express Scripts to OptumRx
• Due to low enrollment, Voya Whole Life will no longer be offered to employees. This was a voluntary benefit paid for entirely by the employee and had no employer contribution. Any employee currently enrolled will still keep his/her coverage and deductions will continue to be taken via payroll. Please note: If you are not currently enrolled in this benefit, this open enrollment window will be your last opportunity to elect the benefit. The district is continuing to provide term life insurance to employees as it has in the past. 
• The increase in 2020 monthly premiums was communicated in the August HR update document. Click here to view the 2020 premiums. 

The changes outlined above are the only changes to benefits for 2020.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO PREPARE FOR YOUR ENROLLMENT:

• Click here to review the WBSD Benefit Guide for an overview of benefit offerings available 
• Consider which benefits will best meet your needs
• Watch for website information and online enrollment instructions coming soon to your email and U.S. Mail 

If you wish to meet in person if you have questions after reviewing the 2020 Benefits information included in this post, HR will be available by appointment for individual meetings: click here to SIGN-UP.

PLEASE NOTE:  ALL staff who work 20 or more hours per week MUST go through the open enrollment process, even if you do not currently have benefits or you do not wish to make changes to your current benefits. This is our record that you were offered the opportunity to enroll in/change your benefits during the open enrollment period.

Powerful Practice - Feedback as a Learning Strategy

FOR ALL TEACHERS

A focus has been placed on high impact strategies as part of the District Continuous Improvement Plan. These strategies are considered powerful practices in education because of the impact on student outcomes, which is due to the cognition involved in the process of learning. Jane E. Pollack (2012) states, “Feedback can be the hinge factor for improving student learning.” For this to be so, feedback must be viewed as a tool for instruction—not simply as an assessment. And feedback to students should come from the teacher, peers, and from the students themselves. Small changes to how we provide feedback can result in greater engagement in the learning process and improved outcomes. For the first small step, consider feedback as a GPS.

Meaningful Conversations about STAR Results

FOR STAR USERS

The STAR assessment is a valid and reliable assessment that provides screening and growth information when determining how to meet the needs of all students. One of our goals with implementation was to ensure the staff feels comfortable to engage in meaningful conversations about the information provided. Now that STAR scores have been announced and posted in Family Access, we want teachers to feel prepared to have meaningful conversations. Parent-Teacher conferences are also scheduled and the information below may be helpful.
In conversations with other educators, individuals or teams might focus on grouping students will similar skills to effectively meet the students’ needs. In doing so with student scale scores, it is recommended that the range of the scale scores is not larger than 100. Narrowing the range of scale scores for a small group of students will help ensure the targeted skills identified are truly aligned to the students' needs.
In conversations with parents, educators might start the conversation with how the student performed based on the national percentiles. In talking about percentiles, it would be ideal to share with the parents/guardians how the child’s performance compares to our district benchmarks. It is important to use triangulated student information, so sharing additional work samples and observations would be helpful.

Passwords, Passwords, and Changing Passwords

FOR All STAFF
As you know, computer passwords are one of the first defenses in the effort to keep data safe. A strong password and frequently changing that password is a best practice. Beginning next month, the Technology Department will require that users change their passwords regularly. Remember that your computer/network login password syncs with your Google password. More information on the process and password requirements will be shared in the next edition of the Highlighter. 

Technology Department staff members are often asked where a user should store their passwords. Obviously, passwords should not be stored on Post-It notes, Word documents, or Google documents. Consider using LastPass, which is a secure and encrypted online system to store your district usernames and passwords. If you set up a LastPass account, please make sure it is set up with your school district email account. 

Skyward Down for Maintenance

FOR All STAFF

On Friday, October 18, the Technology Department will install Skyward's October software release for both Skyward Finance and Skyward Student on the database servers. The updates will begin with Skyward Finance at 2:30 p.m. followed by Skyward Student. Please log out of the Skyward Finance database prior to 2:30 p.m. and the Skyward Student database by 3:30 pm. Users will be able to login to both databases by approximately 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Click here for the programming notes from Skyward. An email will be sent once the installation has been completed and the databases are once again accessible.

Celebrating Our Staff's Committment to WBSD

FOR ALL STAFF

Please celebrate your colleagues for milestones in their years of service in the district:

Celebrating 5 Years in October

• Laura Burch - East & West High Schools
• Jennifer Thompson - Silverbrook

Celebrating 10 Years in October

• Katrina Austinson - Green Tree

Celebrating 20 Years in October

• Donna Brooks - Jackson
• John Kall - McLane
• Jill Whitlock - McLane
• Julie Balistrieri - Rolf's

Celebrating 25 Years in October

• Colleen Daley - ESC
• Wendy Kannenberg - Silverbrook

You can always check out staff celebrations on the HR intranet page here.

Scheduling Wellness Center Appointments is Easier than Ever!

FOR ALL EMPLOYEES THAT USE THE WELLNESS CENTER
The new Wellness Year has begun and there are far fewer HRA visits required of employees this year as part of the Health Insurance plan. This means there are more open appointment slots for staff to get in to see a provider for unexpected illnesses.

Also, did you know you can schedule clinic visits over the phone or online?  Sign up for the Healthstat Patient Portal to gain access to your Healthstat records, appointment scheduling and more!  Check out the information at this link to get onto the Patient Portal.

Monthly Pupil Services & Special Education Update

FOR ALL PUPIL SERVICES & SPECIAL EDUCATION STAFF

Review the monthly update.

Items below this post are from previous issues of the Highlighter

October 18th, Professional Day

FOR ALL EDUCATORS
Please use the 2019-20 Professional Development document for additional information!

On behalf of the Teaching and Learning team, we are excited to learn alongside you and have done our best to provide the conditions in which we can all learn.
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
“I NEVER TEACH MY PUPILS. I ONLY ATTEMPT TO PROVIDE THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH THEY CAN LEARN.”—ALBERT EINSTEIN