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

Celebrate Our Staff!

FOR ALL STAFF

In a school system, one of our biggest partners are the parents of the students we serve. During August and September, staff across the district took time to build relationships with families to better serve our students. Thank you all for going the extra mile to meet the needs of our students.

We would like to give a  for their creative approach to Family Night! Each house provided a welcoming environment for families to engage in a variety of activities focused on gaining more information about life at Silverbrook.

Wellness Center Activities

FOR ALL STAFF
The Wellness Center is bustling with activity!  Not only has it opened up to all staff working at least 20 hours per week, but they also have a number of exciting upcoming wellness education opportunities coming up, such as:

• Drumming Exercise Classes on 10/15 & 10/22
• Medication Classes on 10/16 & 10/23
• Acupuncture 101  on 10/17 - Click here to learn more and sign up
• Plus Flu Shot Clinics coming to your school soon!

Check out the Wellness Center Google Calendar at this link anytime to see what fun and healthy activities are coming up!

Items below this post are from previous issues of the Highlighter

HR Tidbits

• FOR SUPPORT STAFF. In the past, you have received your assignment letter in the summer and then another letter indicating your pay rate later in the fall after the board-approved wage increases. Moving forward, support staff members will now receive these two pieces of information in a single letter once the board approves of wages for the school year.
• MEDICARE PART D CREDITABLE COVERAGE NOTICE. To comply with state and federal employment laws, the Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Notice has been uploaded to the Employee Notices section of the HR Intranet. 

Celebrate Our Staff!

FOR ALL STAFF
October is a month to celebrate a number of different employees in our district!

• October 2 was National Custodian Day. Thank you to everyone in our Facilities Department for the work they do to keep our schools clean and in good working order. Every day our custodians deal with truly unpredictable situations. Thank you to all of them for being ready to serve our staff and students at a moment's notice!
• October 3 is National "Techie" Day so thank that person in your school who is your go-to for random tech-related help. Everybody has at least one person like that in their lives! Plus an extra thank you to our Technology Department for the work they do to put amazing tools in the hands of our staff and students.
• October is National Principal's Month and October 16 is National Boss's Day. Take a moment to tell your supervisor thank you for a way he or she has gone above and beyond for you!

Order a T-Shirt to Support Jodi Kleibel Scholarship Fund

FOR ALL STAFF
"Be Kind, It’s That Simple." Those were the words of Jodi Kleibel, a West Bend School District kindergarten teacher who lost her battle with leukemia on September 4. T-shirts are available for sale in honor of Jodi with all proceeds going to The Jodi Kleibel Scholarship Fund. Call the McLane school office for more information or stop in to purchase a t-shirt for $15.

Process for Maintenance Work Order Requests

FOR ALL STAFF
The best way your needs can be met from the facilities department is by submitting a work request when needed. Use this website: https://westbend.oncfi.com/archibus.

• The standard for determining when to submit work requests should be anything that takes 15 minutes or longer to complete. Items such as burned-out light bulbs, special cleaning requests over holidays, tables and desk height adjustments, etc. should be requested by submitting a maintenance service request ticket.
• Requests for toilet paper, paper towels, emergency clean-ups, etc. should not be submitted in a work request. These requests should be reported directly to the custodian at your building.

Vote for East/West Homecoming Game to be Fox6 Game of Week

FOR ALL STAFF
Every vote counts! Vote now to help make the West Bend East vs West Bend West football game tomorrow the Fox6 Game of the Week! They will send a reporter to attend the game and report on the fun Homecoming festivities and help showcase our high schools. Vote now and tell all your friends and family to vote.

Pharmacy Update

FOR EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE
At the August Board meeting, it was shared that our contract with Express Scripts, the district’s pharmaceutical carrier, was up for renewal. To ensure that our employees and the district are getting the best possible value, we have taken bids from other pharmacy carriers for our business. This year the market for pharmacy carriers is highly competitive, which is good news for you! The competitive options presented will help us to keep insurance rate increases low for employees while many of our neighboring districts are experiencing substantial increases.

As we have embarked on the process of investigating our pharmacy options, there were a number of non-negotiables we have maintained. They include:

• The tiered system of employee drug costs ($10/ $30/$45) will not change
• Employees must have continued access to all of the same level of care and drug options
• Our employees should have access to the best and most complete information about drug costs and the variety of drug options available to them for various situations so they can make informed decisions
• Employees must enjoy the same easy and quick access to medication that they have enjoyed in the past

We expect to announce a final decision on our pharmacy carrier for 2020 in the next few weeks.

Wellness Clinic Officially Opens to More Staff!

FOR EMPLOYEES WHO WORK 20 HOURS OR MORE WEEKLY
Effective today, the wellness clinic will be available to any staff member who works at least 20 hours per week (excluding coaches, lifeguards, and limited-term employees).

Employees who fall into an eligible category and work 20 or more hours per week can utilize the clinic even if they are not on the district's health insurance plan. Please note the following:

• Only the employee will be able to utilize the clinic. The clinic will not be available to family members unless the family is on the district’s health insurance plan.
• Only employees on the district's health insurance plan will be able to receive medications directly from the clinic.
• Employees not on the district's health plan can still have prescriptions written, but will be sent to an area pharmacy of the employee's choice.  The employee’s personal medical insurance plan will be responsible for the cost of those prescriptions. 
• There will be no charge to employees utilizing the clinic.

To view more details about the clinic such as services offered, hours of operation, and phone numbers to schedule appointments, please visit the Wellness Center page on the staff intranet.

Optional Benefit Meetings

FOR EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE FOR DISTRICT BENEFITS
Open enrollment for district benefits will take place in November. We want to ensure that you understand your benefit options. The HR department will be available at each school to answer any benefit questions you may have prior to completing your open enrollment elections. The schedule for our visits is:

Green Tree - Tuesday, October 8 - 7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Jackson - Tuesday, October 15 - 7:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
McLane - Tuesday, October 22 - 7:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
Decorah - Wednesday, October 23 - 7:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
Silverbrook - Tuesday, October 29 - 7:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
Fair Park - Wednesday, October 30 - 7:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
Badger - Tuesday, November 5 - 7:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
Rolfs - Wednesday, November 6 - 7:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. (Meetings will be held at the ESC)
High Schools - Tuesday, November 12 - 7:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.

If you are unable to meet while HR is at one of your scheduled sites, there will be an additional meeting on Monday, November 4 from 4:00-6:00 p.m at the ESC.

To sign up for a meeting time please click the link below:
BENEFIT MEETING SIGN UP

Wellness Updates

FOR EMPLOYEES WHO WORK MORE THAN 20 HOURS WEEKLY

• Thank you to staff that participated in the Wellness Center’s summer challenge: Walk Your Way To Weight Loss! Way to take the initiative to keep yourself moving over the summer months. The winners of this challenge have been notified. 
• To view upcoming events that the clinic has scheduled, please visit the Wellness Center page on the Staff Intranet. On the right-hand side of the page, there is now a calendar outlining the wellness events taking place throughout the district. You can also add that calendar to your own Google calendar options by following this link.
• FOR EMPLOYEES ON THE DISTRICT HEALTH PLAN: Need help understanding the HRA letter you received after the August blood screening? This video will help you interpret the letter and understand how many HRA visits you need to make to receive your full wellness dollars.

Flu Shots at Your School

FOR ALL STAFF

The Wellness Center staff will again be visiting each school with walk-in flu shot clinics. Please see the attached flyer for the date and time the clinics will be taking place at your site. Employees on the district’s health plan receive their flu shots for free. Employees not on the district health plan can receive a flu shot for $20. Please bring cash or a check made payable to the West Bend School District at the time of your flu shot. 

October is Cyber-Security Month

FOR ALL STAFF
Technology staff is often asked about the actions we take to keep all of our systems and data safe in today’s ever-changing technology environment. While the technology department has a variety of different systems, firewalls, and security alerting and controls in place to keep our environment safe, research shows that users of these systems are just as important in keeping online systems and data safe. School data and systems are often targeted because of the large amounts of information schools are required to keep on their students.

To help keep our systems and data safe, please remember the following guidelines when working with district technology, online systems, and data:

1. Do not share your passwords with anyone else and do not post/write them down near your computer or your desk or your computer as someone can easily find your post-it note, sheet of paper, or saved Google/Microsoft document. Please know that technology staff will NOT ask you for your password.
2. Use strong passwords that include upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters and are 12 characters long at a minimum. 
3. Do not include personal information and common words in your passwords.
4. Be diligent in watching for phishing email scams where users are trying to get information from you such as usernames, passwords, banking information, social security numbers, etc. If you are ever unsure, please submit the information to us through a technology ticket. 
5. Be aware of who you are sharing Google documents with. Staff Google accounts are all letters such as tweather@wbsd-schools.org and student accounts include three numbers such as hardejoh000@wbsd-schools.org. 
6. When any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as student names, address, testing data, special education status, etc. is in a Google doc the information should only be shared with specific people and not shared with whole sites and/or with anyone with the link. Anyone with the link also includes students. 
7. Staff should not be inputting student information or having students input information into online systems that are not set up by the district. If you have questions on this please reach out. The district is in the process of revising this process and more information will be shared in the future. 

In the next edition of The Highlighter, watch for more information on what you can do to help keep our systems and students safe, password requirements, and staff trainings around cybersecurity and data privacy. As always, if you are unsure if an email is a phishing attempt, have questions about cybersecurity and data privacy, etc. please submit a technology ticket and someone will respond.

October 18th Professional Day

FOR ALL TEACHING STAFF

October 18 will be here before you know it! Here is a preview of what the day will look like:

• K-8 regular education staff will begin the day at Badger Middle School. The majority of the staff will focus on the PCL model while others will spend two hours focused on the next steps for their department’s curriculum work. 

• K-8 special education staff will use this time to focus on progress monitoring and using eduCLIMBER to enter progress monitoring information.

All K-8 staff will return to their building for a data summit and to learn new features to use on eduCLIMBER

• 9-12 staff will begin their day with a school-wide data summit. The rest of the day the staff will learn more about eduCLIMBER and work collaboratively as a department.

More details for the day will be shared with you one week prior! 

STAR Results in Skyward

FOR ALL TEACHING STAFF

This week student performance results for the STAR assessment will be added to Skyward Family Access. Next week, families will receive a message prompting them to view their child’s results.