Sunset at San Blas Beach in El Salvador, by Deborah Harbord-Ayers, Olympia High School AVID, Paraprofessional and Peer Tutor
OSD employees are encouraged to email the Communications department a photo of their artwork portraying nature (e.g., landscapes, sunrises or sunsets, an interesting cloud formation, a close-up of a flower) for consideration in this staff blog. Your image can be something you captured on canvas, in a photograph, on a textile, in a pencil, charcoal or pastel drawing, with wire — the possibilities are endless!
Please remember, you can be a novice or a professional. You can submit photos taken with your phone or a fancy camera. The goal is for as many employees as possible to participate!
Guidelines:
Nature/scenic images only (no people or pets please).
Attach a photo of your original art in jpeg or png format to an email and send it to communications@osd.wednet.edu. The higher the resolution, the better.
Photos must be in-focus and cropped so the art is visible.
Include your name, title, work location, and if applicable, where the image was taken (you can name the city, for example, or provide even more specific details (e.g. sunset taken from Long Beach, WA). This information will be included with each image published.
Depending on the number of images submitted, we will print one or more in each issue of the staff blog.
Links to the staff surveys are also available in the OSD staff portal. Here is a quick overview:
What:
The Panorama Spring Survey is a survey that our students, families and staff members will take to gauge our overall well-being. Some of the items we explore include:
Do our students feel a strong sense of belonging?
Do our families feel like they are heard?
Do our staff feel supported?
The data that we receive from the Panorama survey will inform decision-making.
Why:
Using Panorama makes the well-being of students, our families, and our staff the fundamental value in all decision-making and actions.
The Panorama climate survey (in Fall and in Spring) is the bare minimum of hearing from our students and our families to inform our decision-making.
The Panorama Climate Survey allows us to get a temperature check of where we are as a community. It allows us to see where we may need to dive deeper into our data to be intentional in our support. While we need to make sure we have multiple ways of hearing from and partnering with our students and families, the climate survey is one of the unique opportunities in which we can potentially hear from all of our students and families.
When:
Panorama Spring Survey: March 29 – April 16, 2023
Please check with your school when it will host the Panorama Spring Survey
How:
Students will take the Panorama survey in class (as designated by each school).
Staff and families will be emailed a Panorama survey link to complete. The information and link for families is posted on the school district website.
Surveys are provided in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Update March 31, 2023: The board has scheduled a work session on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 to continue discussion about possible districtwide budget reductions. The work session will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Zoom and in person at the Knox 111 Administrative Center, 111 Bethel St. N.E., Olympia, WA 98506.
The Olympia School Board has scheduled a work session on March 30, and three community forums — one on March 28 and two more on April 10, to discuss and receive community feedback about a list of possible 2023-24 districtwide budget reductions.
The March 30 board work session will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Zoom, as well as in person at the Knox 111 Administrative Center, 111 Bethel St. N.E., Olympia, WA. While the board will not hear public comment at this work session, there will be an opportunity for attendees online and in-person to provide written feedback for the board to review.
The board will host three online community forums to receive public comment about budget reduction options. There will be no sign up for oral testimonies during the online community forums. Rather, attendees may join the forum and submit written questions or comments to the board during the Q&A portion.
The Knox 111 Administrative Center will be open at 5:50 p.m. before each of the three online forums for anyone who may not have access to Zoom and would like to watch the livestream in the boardroom. The Administrative Center is located at 111 Bethel St. N.E., Olympia, WA 98506.
Those unable to attend the three virtual forums may email questions or comments to OSD-BoardOfDirectors@osd.wednet.edu.
The Zoom link and other information for the online community forums are posted on the school district website and in BoardDocs.
Tuesday, March 28, 6-8 p.m. on Zoom
Monday, April 10, 3-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. on Zoom
The list of budget reduction options shared during the March 23, 2023 regular board meeting and updated on March 28, 2023 is posted on the district Budget webpage. The board also held a first reading during this meeting of Resolution 647: Necessity for and the extent of a Certified staff reduction for the 2023-2024 school year. The Budget webpage also features 2023-24 budget survey narrative responses and other financial information.
During the March 23 board meeting, the school board learned that based on the most current information from the Legislature, the Olympia School District is projected to have a maximum $11.5 million funding shortfall next year. This financial projection is improved from a recent deficit estimate of $13.9 million. This projection is subject to change once the Legislative session ends on April 23, 2023.
The shortfall is caused, in part, by long-term structural inequitable funding mechanisms (Regionalization, Staff Mix, low state salary allocations) and underfunded state or federal requirements (Special Education, Health Care, K-3 class size). The shortfalls are exacerbated by enrollment declines driven by the pandemic and the cessation of federal relief funding (ESSER).
Budget planning timeline and next steps
Tuesday, March 28: School board hosts online community forum from 6-8 p.m. to receive public comments about budget reduction options for the 2023-24 school year.
Thursday, March 30: School board holds work session from 6-8 p.m. to discuss 2023-24 districtwide budget reduction options. While the board will not hear public comment at this work session, there will be an opportunity for attendees online and in-person to provide written feedback for the board to review.
Monday, April 10: School board hosts two online community forums — one from 3-5 p.m. and another from 6-8 p.m. — to receive public comments about budget reduction options.
Tuesday, April 11: School board holds work session from 6-8 p.m. to continue discussion of 2023-24 districtwide budget reduction options.
Thursday, April 13: The board is scheduled to hold a second reading of the Reduced Education Plan. The list of budget reduction options presented at this meeting will be refined from the list presented to the board on March 23 to reflect the most current projected budget shortfall.
April 13 – May 15: In the event a reduction in force is necessary, affected OSD staff will be notified.
May 15 – June 22: If the revenue outlook improves before the 2023-24 budget is approved by the school board on June 22, 2023, adjustments may be made to reductions approved on April 13, 2023.
Governor Inslee hereby directs that Washington State and United States flags at all state agency facilities, including schools and support buildings, be lowered to half-staff immediately in honor and remembrance of the victims who tragically lost their lives on March 27, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Flags should remain at half-staff until close of business or sunset on Friday, March 31, 2023.
All Olympia School District schools and the Knox 111 Administrative Center will be closed to the public during Spring Break. Spring Break is from Monday, April 3 through Friday, April 7, 2023. School resumes on Monday, April 10.
While Knox Administrative staff will be working on-site and remotely over Spring Break, the Knox building at 111 Bethel St. N.E. will be closed the entire week to the public. Any deliveries for the Knox Administrative Center during this week should be made at the lower level of the Knox building, 111 Bethel St. N.E., Olympia.
Please plan ahead and contact Knox 111 Administrative staff before the closure if you need assistance over Spring Break.
Personal issues, planning for life events or simply managing daily life can affect an employee’s work, health and family.
First Choice Health provides 24/7 support, resources and information for personal and work-life issues. Services include support for anxiety and depression, couples/relationship/parenting, crisis support, alcohol/drug problems, grief and loss, domestic violence, and more.
Additionally, community agencies are available to assist youth and families.
A compilation of resources and information, including a list of local and national crisis hotlines, support groups, counseling resources and more are posted on the district website.
Flyers that have been approved by the Communications and Community Relations Department may be shared on school office counters or a school’s community flyer bulletin board, and/or on the district website Community Flyers webpage. The Olympia School District does not send home flyers with students.
There is a variety of flyers currently posted on the site and/or in schools that may be of interest to staff, as well as families, including summer camp counselor opportunities with Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation Department, the Multilanguage Welcome Poster that is also posted in our schools and support buildings, and information from Seattle Children’s Hospital Community Safety Education department about firearms in the home, and how to test for a proper fit for bicycle or other multisport helmets.
“Shelton Rainbow taken on Hammersley Inlet,” by Lisa Gardner, Student Information Systems Data Analyst
OSD employees are encouraged to email the Communications department a photo of their artwork portraying nature (e.g., landscapes, sunrises or sunsets, an interesting cloud formation, a close-up of a flower) for consideration in this staff blog. Your image can be something you captured on canvas, in a photograph, on a textile, in a pencil, charcoal or pastel drawing, with wire — the possibilities are endless!
Please remember, you can be a novice or a professional. You can submit photos taken with your phone or a fancy camera. The goal is for as many employees as possible to participate!
Guidelines:
Nature/scenic images only (no people or pets please).
Attach a photo of your original art in jpeg or png format to an email and send to communications@osd.wednet.edu. The higher the resolution, the better.
Photos must be in-focus and cropped so the art is visible.
Include your name, title, work location, and if applicable, where the image was taken (you can name the city, for example, or provide even more specific details (e.g. sunset taken from Long Beach, WA). This information will be included with each image published.
Depending on the number of images submitted, we will print one or more in each issue of the staff blog.
Everyday Heroes is a regular feature in this staff blog. Remember to submit names of employees districtwide who have done something deserving of encouragement and praise. Give a shout-out to one of your colleagues at your school or support building and watch for it to appear in an upcoming Everyday Heroes blog post.
I would like to nominate our custodian at McLane Sophath ‘Pat’ Min for the Everyday Hero. He is always willing to jump in and help. Great story, we have a new student that speaks Russian. Pat went home and learned how to say “Hello my name is Mr. Pat” and “one milk at lunch” in Russian!! This student was very happy to hear him communicating and had a HUGE smile. Thank you Pat for helping this student feel welcomed at McLane. I want you to know these kiddos here appreciate you. Also, thank you for keeping our spaces clean and maintained. McLane would be a mess without you! Submitted by Amy Long, Paraeducator, McLane Elementary
Everyday Hero Chris Cunningham, Data and Compliance Coordinator and Building Assessment Coordinator, Olympia Regional Learning Academy
Christopher is a wonderful part of the ORLA Team. If it’s a dress up theme day, he’s on it! You can always hear him laughing wherever he goes. He is energetic, enthusiastic and very intelligent. He makes ORLA shine! As we all know, technology has its ups and downs. Tech problems are rescued by Chris, he is a GREAT problem solver. He’s on top of state testing deadlines for teachers. He makes videos, as well as step by step directions, to make our jobs easier and more importantly, compliant. As a Special Education teacher, data tracking with behavior charts is very important. Christopher designed an electronic teacher fill in form to produce a high quality data collector/producer that provided a very colorful, graphic parent report that was above and beyond. There are no limits to his dedication to the students and teachers of ORLA, recently, he has added yet another huge task . . . YEARBOOK!!!
Thank you for your consideration of Christopher, who should wear a cape for his ORLA school uniform!! Submitted by Susan Gonzales
How to nominate an Everyday Hero
Email the Communications and Community Relations Department (communications@osd.wednet.edu) a few sentences, and no more than 200 words, about why the person deserves recognition. It’s easiest to write as if speaking directly to the colleague, such as “Thank you for helping with…” or “I really appreciated when you…”
Write “Everyday Heroes” in the subject heading of the email.
Include your first and last name as the person submitting the comments.
Include the first and last name of the OSD employee you are recognizing.
Include the job title and work location (school or department) of the person you are recognizing.
All submissions will be posted in this blog on a weekly basis and archived each week.
“Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon,” by Doug Curtright, Campus Security, Olympia High School
OSD employees are encouraged to email the Communications department a photo of their artwork portraying nature (e.g., landscapes, sunrises or sunsets, an interesting cloud formation, a close-up of a flower) for consideration in this staff blog. Your image can be something you captured on canvas, in a photograph, on a textile, in a pencil, charcoal or pastel drawing, with wire — the possibilities are endless!
Please remember, you can be a novice or a professional. You can submit photos taken with your phone or a fancy camera. The goal is for as many employees as possible to participate!
Guidelines:
Nature/scenic images only (no people or pets please).
Attach a photo of your original art in jpeg or png format to an email and send to communications@osd.wednet.edu. The higher the resolution, the better.
Photos must be in-focus and cropped so the art is visible.
Include your name, title, work location, and if applicable, where the image was taken (you can name the city, for example, or provide even more specific details (e.g. sunset taken from Long Beach, WA). This information will be included with each image published.
Depending on the number of images submitted, we will print one or more in each issue of the staff blog.
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