Administrative Services

January 14, 2003

Administrative Services

Administrative Services is looking ahead to the upcoming CSAP schedule. Please visit the attached for an overview of what Administrative Support Services is planning for 2003 CSAP testing.

Human Resources

The Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross has announced the first annual Breakfast of Champions to be held March 20, 2003, from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Marriott Denver City Center. Breakfast of Champions is a Red Cross fundraiser honoring local persons whose heroic efforts have saved lives, and in turn, have inspired others to reach out to help in times of critical need.

Nominations will be taken from community members for people who have performed a single act of heroism within the last two years. A committee will pick honorees from the pool of nominations. Once selected, the heroes will be honored at the Breakfast of Champions. The awards will be given in different categories such as: animal rescuer (an animal who has saved a human life), professional rescuer (heroic efforts by a person who has a duty to respond to emergencies), youth rescuer, and adult rescuer, as well as any others that present themselves throughout the nomination process. Nominations will be taken until February 5, 2003.

Heroes are made in the blink of an eye and found where you might least expect them. Help us locate and honor individuals who exemplify courage, kindness, and unselfish character through their acts of heroism in our local community. Please fill out a nomination form by visiting the Web site at www.denver-redcross.org to nominate someone. Nomination forms can also be obtained by calling 303-722-7474. Also call this number if you would like to support this event by purchasing a table for the breakfast.

Risk Management

During the first semester, a number of schools have been inspected by the Denver Fire Department (DFD). Several violations are fairly common to these inspections.

1. Forty-Percent Rule. This year, the DFD has issued a variance to allow up to 40% of a wall to be covered with combustible material such as paper. It is a subjective evaluation on the part of the DFD inspector. A number of our schools are being cited for violation of this fire code. A room may have 40% of any wall covered with paper. The paper cannot be within three feet of a doorway. Bulletin boards within three feet of the doorway need to be reviewed, and the displays shifted if necessary.
2. Material may not be stored on tops of cabinets or shelves to the ceiling. Storage of material may not be closer than 24 inches to the ceiling in rooms that are not sprinkled. In rooms that are sprinkled, nothing can be closer than 18 inches to the height of the sprinkler head from the floor anywhere in the room.
3. Nothing may be hung from light fixtures or be lying on top of light fixtures. Data cables for computer installations must not be laid over the top of light fixtures or wrapped around hot water pipes. Extension cords are for temporary uses.
4. If a class room has two doors, both doors must be unblocked for evacuation. Glass windows in classroom doors must be uncovered.

If you have any questions, please call Risk Management at 303-764-3466.

Curriculum and Instruction

·  Science Fairs: A Reminder

The Elementary Science Expo will be held April 26, 2003, at George Washington High School. The Middle and High Schools’ Science Expo is February 24 and 25, 2003, at Central Colorado AHEC at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. Please contact Estevan Duran, Science Coordinator, at 303-764-3395 or , if you are interested in science fair success tips, need information packets, or have questions. For elementary schools, the teacher information packet and guidelines (in English and Spanish), student guide, flyer, and registration form are available online at curriculum.dpsk12.org/science_expo.htm. The secondary flyer is also available on this Web site.

·  Destination Mars, developed by the Space Science Institute with major support from NASA, will be featured at Discovery Science Center in Fort Collins from February through April. Teacher workshops, special family events, and other enriching activities will accompany the traveling exhibition. Contact the Science Center at 970-472-3990 for more information about Destination Mars programs and events.

Grants Resource Center

Open House

Come browse various funding sources and the Internet for funding opportunities for your project on Tuesday, January 21, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Classroom 1-A, the district’s Computer Training Lab at 770 Grant Street. Sign up for the Basics of Grant Writing, a course starting in February. Be among the first 25 participants to register. The Grants Resource Center is located at 770 Grant Street. For more information, contact the Grants Resource Center at 303-764-3839 or .

Student Services

Sixth Grade Keyboarding Software and Book Preview

A Sixth Grade Keyboarding software and book preview will be held January 21, 2003, at Hill Middle School in room 223 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. This preview addresses the need to purchase upgraded software and books for the mandated Sixth Grade Keyboarding course. Each school should send an administrator and your keyboarding/technology teacher(s) to this preview. Teachers will be paid for their time.

Ordering decisions related to the upgrade for your school will be made during this preview, so it is important that you have representation at the preview. If your school has an alternative method for teaching keyboarding that meets all of the necessary goals and criteria, please communicate this information to Karen Ellis in DPS Career and Technology Education via email at and request a consideration for approval.

Assessment and Testing

Please see the attached memo regarding custom questions on the 2003 School Satisfaction Survey.

Public Information

·  Visit the Pepsi Center this Sunday, January 19, and come see the Denver Public Schools booth. The event runs from noon to 5:00 p.m.; parking is $5. Admission is free. Principals and department heads who can visit for a half hour or hour at a time to help with information about our school choice process, magnet schools, what options exist, etc., are more than welcome.

·  Schools starting to think about marketing strategies might consider two books available from the National School Public Relations Association. One is titled Making and Marketing Your School the School of Choice. The other is The ABC Complete Book of School Marketing. Follow this link: www.nspra.org, then click on “Online Catalog.”

·  Please email a few sentences or any information you might have about schoolwide events or classroom activities related to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday next week to .

TUESDAY TELEGRAM ARCHIVE

http://www.dpsk12.org/docs/tuesday_telegram/tue_tele_archive.shtml

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ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES PROVIDED TO SCHOOLS
DURING CSAP TESTING

FOOD SERVICES

Food and Nutrition Services would like to contribute to the success of our students by offering a free breakfast on CSAP test days. Scientific studies prove a positive correlation between good nutrition and readiness to learn. Because we want to do our part to ensure students are as ready as possible, we are offering the following.

We will be prepared to serve a free “breakfast in a bag” at the time and place of your choosing to students who will be taking CSAP that day. We can bring the bags to the classroom or gymnasium, or students can come to the lunchroom. Although there is no cost to the student, we must have all students’ names recorded on a roster sheet to claim these meals for reimbursement.

If you are interested in this offer, contact your area supervisor or lunchroom manager to work out details. They will need to know dates, times, locations to serve, and number of breakfasts to prepare. Please give us at least two weeks’ notice so food can be ordered and delivered in plenty of time.

If you take advantage of this special service, we suggest you advertise to your parent community so parents will know their children will be able to get a free breakfast on their test days. If you have questions, contact Food Services. Good luck to you and your students during this very stressful and important time.

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Facilities Management provides general support for CSAP success with the normal mission of repair, maintenance, and custodial operations for each school.

Unique changes to the normal mission last year were:

·  A higher priority/emphasis placed on repairs that maintained a proper environment during the test period.

·  Discretionary maintenance and repair activities were scheduled around the test period.

TRANSPORTATION

The Department of Transportation and Support Services supports CSAP testing indirectly rather than directly as part of its overall mission. They support CSAP testing by arranging special bus schedules to support the CSAP testing period.

In the area of printing, the department can reproduce large volumes of materials that directly support school activities and training in support of CSAP, and the Mail Distribution center, in coordination with Assessment and Testing, processes the testing materials for expedited delivery to the schools, by the warehouse, on very short notice.
In turn, the warehouse picks up all the completed tests for delivery to Assessment and Testing.

PROCUREMENT

The Purchasing Department processes the requisitions for practice tests and training; reviews materials for CSAP tests; and, when necessary, expedites the orders to ensure the materials are received when needed.

DoTS

DoTS provides several types of support to the CSAP initiative.

Operations provides preprinted student identifying information on CSAP test sheets and printed CSAP test result reports. The combined volume of these sheets is about 104,860 pieces per year.

The Data Quality Management Team and Assessment and Testing Department jointly plan and present to all schools the needed information for CSAP. Last year, this consisted of eight separate meetings: four elementary school meetings, one middle school meeting, one high school meeting, one charter school meeting, and one make-up meeting. For the elementary meetings, members from the Data Quality Management Team and Assessment and Testing formed two teams and presented in two different locations simultaneously.

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TO: All Principals

FROM: Wayne D. Eckerling
Norman Alerta

DATE: January 14, 2003

SUBJECT: School Satisfaction Survey—Custom Questions

As mentioned in a memo distributed last week, principals are allowed to add up to five custom questions to the 2003 School Satisfaction Surveys by visiting the following link on the Assessment and Testing Web site: http://atweb.dpsk12.org/ssscustom/default.asp. Instructions for adding custom questions can be found here as well. The custom question Web site will remain open until February 5, 2003.

You may develop any question of your choice, except questions about specific individuals in the school. You should also avoid questions about any topic for which you do not want the results to be made public. You must re-enter any custom questions that you used last year.

The custom questions will be reviewed by Assessment and Testing; assistance will be offered when questions are identified that are ambiguous, address personnel or confidentiality issues, or are outside the “school satisfaction” domain. However, the principal has final responsibility for the custom questions on the survey.

As was the case last year, parent and student surveys will be translated into Spanish and Vietnamese for those who require translated materials.

If you have any questions or comments, please email or call Norman Alerta at 303-764-3269. If I can be of further assistance, please email or call me at ext. 3802.

Cc: Sally Mentor Hay

John Leslie

Area Superintendents

Assistant Area Superintendents

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