2013/2014 Staff Handbook


1. SHARED MISSION, VISION and VALUES
Mission
We Empower Compassionate, Creative and Independent Thinkers. 

Vision
Salmon Bay K-8 will provide all students with a physically and emotionally safe space to engage in challenging, integrated and experiential learning, and will prepare them to become resourceful citizens in an ever-changing, diverse world. 

Values Statements: 
As a Staff, we hold ourselves responsible for exemplifying the following Shared Values:
  • Relationships Grounded in Trust
  • Inquiry-based, Authentic and Experiential Learning through
  • Hands-On Projects
  • Service to the Larger Community
  • Integration of Athletics and Arts with the General Curriculum
  • Enhanced Learning Through Computer Literacy Skills
  • Equal Status and Respect for all Members of the School Community
**As an extension of our Shared Values, we explicitly teach our students the following research-based character strengths (*): Optimism, Grit, Curiosity, Social Intelligence, Gratitude, Self-Control, Zest, Compassion and Independent Thinking

*Many of the above character traits have been researched by various Positive Psychologists and implemented in schools across the country.

**Implementation to be addressed in CSIP. 
2. STAFF AGREEMENTS
These agreements will serve as a guide for our daily interactions with one another:

1. We will assume positive intentions.
2. We will demonstrate care for self and others.
3. We will communicate effectively.
4. We will be open to change. 
5. We will model the relationship loop. 

3. SALMON BAY K-8 MEETING NORMS 
These norms are in place for all meetings held at Salmon Bay K-8:
1. Step Up
2. Make Room
3. Assume and Offer Good Will
4. Accept and Tolerate Non-Closure
5. Respect Time
4. CALENDAR & BELL SCHEDULE
Salmon Bay K-8 Master Calendar(s)
These are living documents that may be revised and edited throughout the year. Please contact Karen if you would like to add an event to the calendar.
1. Salmon Bay K-8 Private (staff view only)
2. Salmon Bay K-8 Public (staff/community view)



2013/14 School Year Calendar -  This district calendar provides a clear one page review of the entire school year.

Salmon Bay All School Bell Schedule

Special Bell Schedules:
     • 1 Hour Early Dismissal
     • 2 Hour Late Start
     • 6-8 Grade Bell Schedule
     • 6-8 Grade School Master Schedule
     • 6-8 Grade Morning Assembly Schedule
     • 6-8 Grade Dance Schedule

2013/2014 Master Schedule


5. STAFF DIRECTORY
Staff Extension Directory - This one page chart lists the member's names, teams, grade level, room number and PCP time for each staff member at Salmon Bay.

Salmon Bay Teaching Teams


6. SUPERVISION
Duty Schedule Chart - This duty schedule outlines assignments for staff's daily supervision responsibilities.

Supervision Responsibilities - A description of the expectations and responsibilities associated with daily duties.


7. SAFETY & HEALTH PROCEDURES
Evacuation Plan - Salmon Bay evacuation plan and map.

Classroom Safety Plan

Student Drop-off and Pick-up

SPS Safety and Security - This district site highlights prevention, preparedness, response and recovery procedures to help maintain a safe and secure learning environment.

SPS Student Health Services -This is the Seattle Public School's Health and Safety website.
     • Asthma Policy
     • EpiPen Policy
     • Life Threatening Allergies

LifePack Automated External Defibrillator 
     • Medtronic AED Training Video (14 Mins)



8. ADMINISTRATIVE & OFFICE
General Staff Policies  

 SubFinder Instruction 

 Power Teacher video (Attendance, Reports, Student Information, Seating Charts)

 Teacher Forms
     • Employee Reimbursement
     • FOSB Reimbursement
     • ESS Recording Absences 
     • Volunteer Screening and Background Check

 Field Trip Documentation 
     • Field Trip Application Form
     • Field Trip Sack-lunch Order Form
     • Field Trip Authorization/Permission Form 
     • Private Transportation Form


9. PROFESSIONAL GROWTH & EVALUATION

 Teacher and Principal Evaluation Project - presentation

Supervision and Evaluation Cycle Timeline - Information on the process and due dates for all of the evaluation cycles.

Certificated Staff - PG&E

 Classified Staff Evaluations:
10. STUDENT DISCIPLINE 
Salmon Bay K-8 School Rules: 
BE KIND * BE SAFE * BE RESPONSIBLE

School Based Referral Form: www.tinyurl.com/sbreferral 

 Behavior Expectations for Shared Spaces

 Empowering Language - Directing, Reinforcing, Reminding, Redirecting, Reflecting
PATHWAYS TO SELF-CONTROL
  • Notice 
    • Notice/name the behavior
  • Redirect 
  • Problem-solve 
    • TAB Out & Back Reflection:
    • Quick Problem Solving Conferences:
      • Describe the problem ("Our agreement says... Your goal was...")
      • Understanding ("What are you having trouble with?")
      • Plan for the Future ("How can we get you back on track?")
      • Closure (Summarize plan. Handshake. Make an explicit agreement re. check-back time.)
  • Return & Repair
    • Action Apologies
    • Welcoming students back into the room
    • Restitution - You broke it, you fix it. 

SPS Recommendations for District Offenses

 SPS Standard Discipline for Exceptional Misconduct


Additionally, you may find some extremely useful tools at the Responsive Classroom and Developmental Designs websites.  Consider bookmarking these sites on your browsers:
11. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Weekly Team PLC Meeting Schedule (SPS District requirement - formerly known as Team Meetings) -- must include data analysis and lesson/unit planning based on data):
  • K/1 - Tuesdays @ 3:00 p.m.
  • 2/3 - Tuesdays @ 3:00 p.m.
  • 4/5 - Tuesdays @ 3:00 p.m.
  • 6th - Tuesdays @ 3:00 p.m.
  • 7/8 - (1x/month as whole group)
    • Cascades - Mondays @ 3:00 p.m.
    • Olympics - Mondays @ 3:00 p.m.
3:00 Wednesday Schedule (unless otherwise announced):
  • 1x/month: K/8 school-wide meeting (2013-2014 topics include: Alt. Ed., MTSS (Tier I focus), Envisions (Needs Assessment and Graduate Profile), PG&E goal/artifact reflections, technology integration, etc.
  • 2x/month: K/5 and 6/8 for MTSS (Focus: Tier I planning/implementation and Student Support)
  • 1x/month: K/8 CFGs (Focus: Professional problems of practice)
*Envisions Learning Partners - Year 1 dates/times:

  • Common Core - throughout year during staff meetings (in preparation for next steps with PBL)
  • Needs Assessment - October 11 workday
  • Graduate Profile - October 30 ED and January 15 ED

12. CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

*Daily Classroom Schedule (K/5) is due to office no later than Monday, September 9th. See me if you need assistance completing the document (above link). Be sure to consider the following guidelines when completing your daily classroom schedule.



13. HOMEWORK
Salmon Bay K-8 Guiding Principles:
Homework is an essential part of the school program at Salmon Bay and plays a vital role in helping our students develop both the academic and executive functioning (organization, turning work in on time, etc…) skills  necessary to be successful in high school and beyond. As students transition through our K-8 program, teachers create homework assignments that are developmentally appropriate for our learners. While homework at Salmon Bay will look different at each grade level and if there is a project happening in class, all homework assignments take the form of either practice, preparation or extension. We understand all learners are unique and have different needs.



Kindergarten and First Grades
Developmentally, young children benefit greatly from open time at home to explore their interest and ideas.  Parents should support and encourage their child's enthusiasm for learning about the world around them.  We recommend that parents read to their child daily.  Once children are ready, they should begin reading to their parents daily.  Parents and children should read together for about 10-15 minutes a day.  In first grade children will be assigned 10-15 minutes of leveled or "just right" reading at home to build their confidence in themselves as readers, their identity as a reader, their decoding skills and more.  In parent newsletters and "homework for grown-ups" teachers may provide discussion or reflection topics for students and their families for the purpose of communication and language development, and as opportunities for reinforcing concepts and skills at home.


2nd and 3rd Grades
In addition to in-classroom reading, a minimum of 20 minutes of leveled or “just right” daily reading at home is essential for our students to build their fluency and comprehension skills. Additionally, teachers may occasionally give math, writing, or research homework to support a student’s skills, to provide additional time for working on a classroom project, or to finish incomplete class work. Any given homework also serves as an opportunity for students to build self-responsibility.
4th and 5th Grades
We create developmentally appropriate homework assignments. Students are responsible for completing and returning these assignments to class by the given due date. All students are asked to read at home every day. Students will often have a short math assignment to do each night. At times, they may be asked to finish incomplete work from class at home. Students may also work on a project at home. Our projects are typically designed so that particular sub-tasks are due within a designated time frame.
6th Grade
Daily homework will include:
  • 30 minutes of reading
  • No more than 20 minutes of review/reflect math
  • Organization check-in with parents
  • Completion of any unfinished class assignment for
  • Language Arts/Social Studies
Every 6th grade student will receive a school planner for recording assignments and a folder that should be checked daily. Most assignments will be completed during class time.
7th/8th Grades
Here are a couple things to keep in mind as your child is completing their homework.
  • On average your child should have 1-1.5 hours of homework per night.
  • Reading at home is required homework for all our students. 30 minutes a night is the norm, unless otherwise specified by your child’s Language Arts teacher.
  • During the school year, your child will be required to complete multi-step projects. During this time he/she can expect to have additional homework. (30-60 minutes per night)
  • Contact your child’s Homeroom teacher if you notice:
         - Your child has two or more hours of homework per night on a regular basis.
         - Your child rarely has homework at all.
  • If you want to know more about your child’s homework please follow these steps:
  1. Check your child’s planner
  2. Check your child’s Source and Fusion pages
  3. Contact your child’s Homeroom teacher


Generally, Salmon Bay teachers provide students with in-class work time to complete daily assignments. However, if students do not use in-class work time wisely, this can add to the time they need to spend on homework each night. Please contact your child’s homeroom teacher with any questions or comments you might have.

14. Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)

MTSS is a framework designed to accelerate academic, social and emotional learning behaviors for all 

students based on:


  • High quality core instruction (Tier I) using curriculum aligned to CCSS standards
  • A proactive framework of prevention and targeted instruction/intervention matched to student needs (tiered instruction)
  • Collaborative decision making process based on student data
  • Allocation of district/building resources based on student needs/data
  • Balanced Daily Classroom schedule


MTSS Team: Jen (Admin), Brett (Admin), Kim (K/5), Melanie (6/8), Heather (K/5 Sped), Devin (6/8 Sped LA), Harmony (6/8 Sped Math), Markos (1/2 caseload), Anthony (1/2 caseload), Cindy (Coord.), Carolyn OT), Julie (Nurse), Michelle (School Psych.)

15. HOME - SCHOOL COMMUNICATION 
Weekly Newsletters: Weekly newsletters are sent by K/5 teachers via email and include but are not limited to the following: the week's learning targets and examples of strategies as needed, important dates/events, etc. Jen and Brett should be copied on these emails. 

The Source: The Source is a resource for families, teachers, administrators, and students to communicate and collaborate for academic achievement.  Parents and guardians must register to create an account.  Students will receive an account at school and will log onto the Source with their student account.


16. STAFF COMMUNICATION 
Modes of communication include:
  • Jen and Brett both have "open-door" policies. If not available on the spot, email one or both of them to set up a mutually workable meeting time. 
  • Weekly Staff Meetings (per agenda) - often using CFG protocols
  • Weekly Team Meetings (per agenda)
  • Building Leadership Team (BLT) - Items to be considered for discussion should be shared with your rep (see flowchart) at least 48 hours before the next meeting. Reps should share items to be considered with Jen at least 24 hours before the next meeting. Meetings are typically held every other Tuesday morning. Once approved, minutes are shared with staff via email. 
  • Google Surveys are sometimes used by administration or other staff members to gather input. Once collected, results and next steps will be shared with staff.
  • Once Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) goals and action steps are determined by BLT (with staff input -- based on data), CSIP committees will be formed to oversee progress toward completion of each goal. BLT reps will chair these committees and membership will be open to all staff. Meetings will mostly be held on alternate Tuesday mornings. Committees will include (but may not be limited to) the following areas: Math, English Language Arts and School Climate. 
  • A "Parking Lot" tool is hanging in the back office. Please use this as a space for the sharing of ideas, comments, suggestions, etc. 
  • Jen and Brett will email a weekly staff newsletter (Friday Splash) on Friday afternoons. This newsletter will include key dates, events, updates, reminders, etc. 
  • Email is a useful communication tool and should be checked at least twice daily. Be sure to reply directly to the sender unless a reply all is requested or absolutely necessary. 

17. BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 


 SALMON BAY TECH DOCUMENTS
  • Wi-Fi Network Infrastructure

SALMON TECH TROUBLESHOOTING 
The Technology team is working to develop some documents to help guide individuals in resolving some common concerns with technology in the building.  Please reference these documents as you attempt to fix issues.

  • Presentation Station
  • Printing
    • Laptop
    • Presentation Station
    • Student Laptop (to develop)
  • Hardwired Network Connections
  • Apple TV
  • Document Camera 

MOBILE LABS
At Salmon Bay School we have two MacBook(16 units each), three Chromebook (12 units each) and one iPad (16 unit) mobile lab available for classroom teachers to use in their teaching and learning.  The following links outline the policies and guidelines of for the mobile lab use.
  • Mobile Lab Use- This document highlights the responsibilities of the teacher and students use of the mobile labs. 
TECH INSTRUCTIONAL LINKS
  • WA Technology Link -This site is designed to promote and support the integration of technology into teaching and learning.  
"People teach, but the institutions which people build also teach… We have a profound moral contract with our students. We insist, under the law, that they become thoughtful, informed citizens. We must – for their benefit and ours – model such citizenship."
- Excerpt from: The Students Are Watching, by Ted and Nancy Sizer




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