Wednesday, April 22, 2026

TIME Day Spring Submission

Thank you for your commitment to collaborative professional learning throughout the school year (TIME-Teacher Initiated Meaningful Engagement). There are two pay periods for TIME day work each school year--November and May.  The deadline to receive payment in the May period is MAY 8th.  

We know this is a busy time of year and truly appreciate all that you are managing. At the same time, due to payroll timelines and audit expectations, we are not able to process submissions received after the deadline.

We appreciate your understanding and your help in ensuring everything is submitted on time.


Below is additional information from our professional development site regarding TIME day.

Another opportunity for funding will be an option for teachers to participate in additional hours of professional learning throughout the school year (TIME-Teacher Initiated Meaningful Engagement). Certified teachers may receive up to 8 hours of additional per diem pay for collaborative work completed outside their regular contract time during the 2025-2026 school year.  Each member of the collaborative team must submit a Laserfiche form to receive payment. The criteria for these hours is below:

To receive payment for this work, please submit the form at the link above. There will be 2 pay periods for TIME hours during the school year--in November, and May. 


*Please review your collaborative plan with your building 

principal prior to beginning this work.



FAQ's Related to TIME Day Funding

Q: What is the window for TIME funding?

A: TIME hours take place during the school year, beginning on the first day of school and ending on the last day of school.

Q: When do we receive TIME payments?

A: There are 2 pay periods for TIME--one in November, and one in May. 

Q: Since TIME hours are collaboration hours by our team, may our entire team submit just one form?

A: While team members are included on the form, each individual must submit a form in order to receive payment. 

Q: What are the pay increments for TIME?

A: You may submit for payroll in increments of 4 or 8 hours.  You may opt for 4 hours in November and 4 hours in May, 8 hours in November, or 8 hours in May. 


Monday, April 6, 2026

Secondary Job-Alike Collaboration

 

We are looking forward to our secondary collaboration this Wednesday, April 8th, from 7:30 AM - 8:45 AM.  Please see the chart below for your meeting location. 

TeamLocation
PE/Health 6-12High School S176 or MP Room
CTE (PLTW) & BusinessHigh School N169
Science- 6-12Junior High (2nd floor science)
Math: 6-12JH Old Orchestra Room
World Language, 8th World LanguageDistrict Office Conference room A112
Fine ArtsHigh School S108 (Art) and S122 (Music)
Social Studies 6-12HS N268
ELA 6-12, ESOL 6-12, TAG 6/7, Teacher LibrariansDistrict Office A110-A111 (JH/HS)- Board Room (MS)
CounselorsDistrict Office Curriculum Workshop (B145)
SpEd ID and BD: Grades 6-12District Office Empower U Cafeteria
SpEd Level I and Level II: Grades 6, 9-12Attend with the content area that you co-teach
SpEd Level I and Level II: Grades 7-8JH Media Center

Monday, February 9, 2026

Elementary Job-Alike Collaboration: February 11th

We are looking forward to our upcoming Elementary Collaboration on Wednesday, February 11th. Today's blog has information on the content and location for this collaboration.


K-2 Classroom Teachers

Principals and Instructional Coaches may choose either the K-2 or 3-5 CKLA training.


Focus: New Social Studies Standards and Amplify CKLA

  • Overview of the new standards

  • Integration opportunities with CKLA

  • Exploration of CKLA Demo Site

Location: District Office Board Room* (Report here when you arrive)

*Please see map below for important parking information.

Breakout Rooms:

  • Kindergarten

    • Commons Area

  • Grade 1 

    • Curriculum Work Room

  • Grade 2

    • Large Conference Room

Time: 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM

*Please bring: A charged laptop, and all your materials (Amplify bag) from the January 28th training

3-5 Classroom Teachers


Principals and Instructional Coaches may choose either the K-2 or 3-5 CKLA training.


Focus: Strengthen Training: Enhancing Practice (Amplify CKLA)

Location: Virtual training, at your building. log in with your grade-level team in the same room

Time:  2:00-4:00 (virtual training begins promptly @ 2:00)

* Use the Participant Notebook during this training. Use this link: https://go.amplify.com/PDP1307ckla3 

&

* Bring your Current or upcoming teacher materials with you

ESOL Teachers

Focus:  Exploring LanguageStudio and envisioning future instruction

Location: District Office Atrium (back table) 

Time: 2:30-4:00pm

Please bring: A charged laptop 

*Please see map below for important parking information.

Title 1 Math Teachers

Focus:  FastBridge and Panorama Updates

Location: District Office Room B136

Time: 2:30-4:00pm

*Please see map below for important parking information.

Special Education Teachers

Focus: CKLA Support

Location: Strengthen Training: Enhancing Practice (Amplify CKLA)

Location: Virtual training, at your building. log in with a grade-level team in the same room

Time:  2:00-4:00 (virtual training begins promptly @ 2:00)

* Use the Participant Notebook during this training. Use this link: https://go.amplify.com/PDP1307ckla3 

Reading Specialists

Focus: CKLA Support

Location: Strengthen Training: Enhancing Practice (Amplify CKLA)

Location: Virtual training, at your building. log in with a grade-level team in the same room

Time:  2:00-4:00 (virtual training begins promptly @ 2:00)

* Use the Participant Notebook during this training. Use this link: https://go.amplify.com/PDP1307ckla3 

Preschool Teachers

Focus: Continued work on DATA and curriculum collaboration.

Location: Willowbrook Preschool Annex

Time: 2:30 - 4:00

Remaining Core+ Teachers 

(TAG, PE, Music, Art, School Counselors, Teacher Librarians):

Focus: Continued work on your collaborative focus areas.

Location: Each team please identify and share the location for meeting with those on your team.

Time: 2:30-4:00pm


Please reach out if you have questions about the afternoon.  We are looking forward to learning and collaborating together!


For those coming to the district office, please refer to this image for parking instructions:



Tuesday, January 20, 2026

New Social Studies Standards

Iowa's new Social Studies standards were adopted by the State Board of Education on January 15, 2026. Over the past year, the state of Iowa completed a full rewrite of the Social Studies standards. Unlike ELA, Math, and Science—which focused on refining existing expectations—Social Studies required more significant change to strengthen clarity, coherence, and rigor across grades. 

Schools will have a 3 year timeline for full implementation.  Our first step with the new standards will be to build familiarity.  We can do this by reviewing the K-12 Social Studies Storylines, the Content Comparison Chart, and becoming familiar with the language of the new standards. 

The full standards document is linked below and has been uploaded to the Social Studies page of the Teaching and Learning site.  In addition, the page also has links for each individual grade level as well as 9-12 courses.  

Please feel free to reach out to the Teaching and Learning team to help support the first step of building familiarity with the new standards. We appreciate the work you do every day to help students understand the world around them.

Adopted January, 2026