August 17,2004______

Management Items

Daily Membership Submission

Daily membership submission starts Friday, August 20 and runs through Friday, October 1.This is the district’s opportunity to ensure that we have full funding for the students we serve and your opportunity to assure your appropriate teacher allocation.Principals are responsible for submitting counts by NOON daily to will receive a memo explaining how to conduct the daily membership submissions.Counts are based on membership, not attendance, so be sure to review the rules before submitting your count.Questions should go to Steve Masias at Planning, Assessment, and Research (303-405-6642) or to Joy McLarty at (303-764-3744).

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Please review the attached Annual FMLA document.

Spanish Language Proficiency Testing for DAEOP

Here is the schedule for Spanish language proficiency testing for DAEOP employees:

Thursday, September 9 from 4-6:00 p.m. and Saturday, September 11 from 9-11:00 a.m. in the 4th floor lunchroom at 900 Grant St.The test takes about 1 1/2 hours.If you have DAEOP employees interested in taking this test, please RSVP to Talonna Arakawa in the English Language Acquisition Department at 303-405-8144 or by email.

Substitute Hiring

Principals — If you are interested in particular substitute teaching candidates, you may start screening them using the online phone interview form — Please make sure that they have a sub authorization or a current teacher’s license and they have applied online. After completing the phone interview, forward the screening form to your HR Generalist.

HR has received approximately 189 applications from the substitute job posting and has since removed the posting from the web.If you have a candidate that has not applied online yet, they should still fill out a general application online.

Tracking Association Leave Time

Please inform your school secretaries that they should be tracking all absences by teachers for DCTA/UNION reasons. Please forward these directions to your secretaries so they can track association leave time.

  1. Access WebCenter:
  2. Click on ‘Jobs’
  3. Click on ‘Create an Absence’
  4. The below screen will appear:
  5. Notice the drop down box – DCTA is reason code 34. Only secretaries signed in using the school code can view multiple reason codes!! Teachers can only view Reason Codes (1) Illness Own and (2) Illness/Death Family
  6. The Secretary would then create the absence as trained in WebCenter or the phone System 303.764.3231.

Changes To Ala Carte And Vending Program

The new school year will see significant changes in school ala carte and snack vending programs operated by Food and Nutrition Services. Students will no longer see some of their favorite items available for purchase. With the growing concern about obesity and the increasing state and national legislative efforts toward regulation, the department decided to be pro active and make changes for school year 2004-05.

Standards were set for the % by weight of fat (30%) and sugar (35%) in snack items. Then all items sold last school year were evaluated as to these new standards and some of them fell off the approved list. Such items as candy bars, big grab bags of chips, and all regular chips were eliminated. Only the baked, reduced fat, or wow chips will be available. Meeting the standards will be phased in gradually as the department is able to work with manufacturers and find enough products that meet these strict standards.

The department expects some initial student criticism and decreased sales. However data from other school districts shows that sales do return to previous levels and meal participation may increase. We are asking for principal and teacher support of our efforts as they receive student complaints. Our goal is to provide healthier items for DPS students because we are concerned about their health, well-being and readiness to learn.

Room Numbering At Your School

The numbering of rooms at school buildings and other district facilities is a matter of interest to many departments within DPS and outside agencies as well.Room numbers are used by the Denver Fire Department, DPS Planning and Research, DPS Maintenance, DPS Facilities Planning, DPS Fixed Assets, and DPS Event Scheduling and Community Use. Therefore, room number changes are often complicated and frequently require significant coordination.

Room numbers which disagree with building fire alarm system programming and maps can place the facility and occupants at risk during a fire emergency.The Fire Department must be able to identify the location of fire detection system alarms by finding the room where the alarm originated.Changing room numbers, without proper coordination, can result in a cost of ten to twenty thousand dollars to modify fire alarm panels.

We realize that room numbering systems sometimes do not seem logical, but due to the importance of coordinating all of these various systems, room number changes must be approved by Facilities Planning prior to any change being made.Please contact Larry Williams, Manager of Facility Planning at 303-575-4122 or via e-mail at .

Student Accidental Injury Insurance

Each school should have received a box of insurance applications for student accidental injury insurance.If you did not receive the applications please call Brice Durbin, SummitAmerica, 1-800-955-1991, and let them know your school and how many applications you need.This application should go home to each of your families.If you need some Spanish version of the application, please call Karen Bright at 303-764-3613.

The 2004-05 Safety and Health Calendar has been sent to all the schools for classroom display.Please make distribution.Visit the risk management website:

Building Modifications

FACILITIES PLANNING

The Denver Public Schools Facility Planning Department is responsible for the maintenance of our Facility Information databases and works with many other DPS departments and public agencies to share information and to assure that adopted standards are maintained.

ALL SCHOOLS

Improvement of our school buildings is the goal of all of the Facilities Management team and we applaud site-based efforts to create better and more exciting environments for Denver Public Schools students. However, these changes can sometimes create building code violations or other problems. The sub-division of rooms or other floor plan changes undertaken at the schools need to be reflected in the district’s facility information databases. In order to assure that building systems and school safety are not compromised, all planned site-based school improvements must be approved by the Manager of Facility Planning.

Historic Schools

Denver Public Schools has an inventory of 23 school buildings and sites that have been designated as Denver Landmarks and an additional 42 buildings that have been assessed as being eligible for Landmark Designation.By agreement with the Denver Landmark Commission, DPS has committed to review all proposed exterior modifications to these structures with the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission.The items subject to review include all exterior changes including exterior murals, paint colors, window modifications, building or yard signs, masonry changes, exterior painting and any other change which would alter the exterior appearance of the building.In order to comply with these policies and agreements, any anticipated changes in the building must be approved by the Manger of Facilities Planning.District policy on the designation of school buildings as historic landmarks is contained in policy FB – Historical Designation of Facilities (from the Board of Education link on the DPS homepage).

DESIGNATED LANDMARK SCHOOLS – The following schools have been designated as historical landmarks by the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission: Asbury ES, Ashley ES, Bryant-Webster K-8 School, Byers MS, Cory ES, East HS, Ebert ES, Edison ES, Grant MS, Horace Mann MS, Lake MS, Lincoln ES, Merrill MS, Moore ES, Morey MS, North HS, Park Hill ES, Skinner MS, Smedley ES, South HS, Steck ES, Steele ES and West HS.

ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS – The following schools have been identified as being eligible for historic designation: A. Lincoln HS, Baker MS, Barnum ES, Beach Court ES, Bradley ES, Brown ES, Carson ES, Cole MS, College View ES, Crofton ES, DenisonMontessori, Ellis ES, Fairmont ES, Fairview ES, Fallis ES, G. Washington HS, Garden Place ES, Gilpin ES, Goldrick ES, Hallett ES, Hill MS, JF Kennedy HS, Johnson ES, Kepner MS, Knapp ES, Knight Academy ES, Kunsmiller MS, Manual HS, Montclair ES, Opportunity School, Philips ES, Pioneer Charter ES, Rishel MS, Rosedale ES, Smiley MS, Stedman ES, T. Jefferson HS, Teller ES, University Park ES, Valverde ES, Whiteman ES and Whittier ES.

For more information, contact Larry Williams, Manager of Facility Planning at 303-575-4122 (fax 303-575-4126) or via e-mail at .

Professional Development

4th Annual Safe and Drug Free SchoolsMountain Conference

A reminder that the 4th Annual SDFS Mountain Conference at Beaver Run in Breckenridge is fast approaching.It will be held on Saturday and Sunday, August 28 and 29 and there is still room to register.One semester hour of credit will be available.See the attachments for details. Choose from:

  • Aggressors, Victims & Bystanders
  • Life Skills
  • Gangs in Denver
  • WhyTry & C/SAT’s and 504 Plans

For Your Information

Comcast Cares Day

This event is scheduled for Saturday, October 2 and is a nationwide volunteer effort by Comcast employees. The Comcast offices in Denver have 500-600 employees ready to help in our schools doing things such as painting classrooms or doing yard work or minor refurbishing of playgrounds. This is a chance for your school to put together a proposal for a much-needed project there has not been the time or finances to do. Please submit your project plan to Louise Gerber by Friday, August 20. Call Louise at 303-764-3694 or email with your proposals and/or questions.

Kids Care

Kids Care is a brand new program for grades 4-12 customized to teach kids about community service and philanthropy.Sponsored by the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News, this program is designed to be a foundational curriculum with the goal of creating awareness about philanthropy and the nonprofit sector among children and youth in Colorado.Build upon children's inherent caring and concern for others. Help your students discover how philanthropy works, who does it and how kids can give their time, talent or treasure to make their world a better place.Teachers can sign up at

THIS FREE PROGRAM INCLUDES:

  • Teacher curriculum with activities reinforcing reading comprehension, writing and math skills
  • Free set of classroom journals
  • Classrooms may apply for a $500 grant to conduct a community project benefiting a nonprofit through volunteer or fundraising efforts
  • Opportunity for student journal entries to be published bi-weekly in the newspaper. A grant recipient will be featured each month in the newspaper.
  • Delivery of 15 Sunday Denver Post, 30 Tuesday Denver Post and 30 Thursday Rocky Mountain News

Denver Newspaper AgencyStock Market Game Program

This school year, the Stock Market Game program is free to Denver Public Schools teachers (who have not used the program in the past two years) thanks to a grant from A.G. Edwards. See the attached registration form for more information.

2004 Election Buzz

This presidential election will be another prime “teachable moment,” and you should take advantage of all the resources out there that will help you capitalize on this historic event. Many organizations will be providing educators with materials and support.One such program is well-known to most of you – Kids Voting.Kids Voting is an eight-week curriculum that emphasizes the importance of becoming informed on the issues and candidates that will be on the ballot in November.The program culminates with a mock election whereby students vote in their own voting booths right alongside their parents’ voting booths in their own precincts!The curriculum encourages student-parent interactions and discussions on the issues and candidates and encourages both to vote together.

Please encourage your teachers to get involved by attending the orientation meeting Tuesday, August 31 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at DSA’s library. They will receive the free curriculum and learn how to implement the program in their classrooms.For questions, please contact Gilberto Muñoz, Social Studies coordinator, at 303-764-3632, or visit the social studies website at:

TUESDAYTELEGRAM— Clickonthislink to access past issues:

fmla

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMUNICATION

To:All Principals and Department Heads

From:Robin Kane, Executive Director of Human Resources

Date:August 2004

Subject:Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Procedures

  1. Procedural guidance for applying for Family Medical Leave Act Leave (FMLA).
  2. Procedural guidance for submitting a Request for a Leave of Absence form.

This memorandum is intended to provide guidance regarding procedures to be followed when employees are or expect to be absent from work for reasons that may be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The FMLA allows employees who have worked at least 1,250 hours within the past 12 months to take up to 12 weeks leave for certain purposes. Those purposes include:

  • Inability of the employee to work due to a serious health condition;
  • Care for a spouse, child or parent who has a serious health condition;
  • Parental care of a newborn child within the first year after birth; and
  • Care for a child placed with an employee for adoption or foster care within the first year following placement or adoption.
  • leave for bonding must conclude within a year from when the birth or placement occurs;
  • leave may not be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule for bonding purposes; and
  • if a husband and wife work for the same employer they cantake only a combined 12 weeks in a 12-month period for purposes of bonding with a child or caring for a parent.

All Principals and Department Heads

August 2004

Page Two

Whenever an employee is absent for any of the foregoing purposes, and regardless of whether the employee uses paid sick days for the leave, the leave will be designated as an FMLA leave.

Under school district policy, any absence for a serious health condition is considered FMLA leave, regardless of whether paid sick leave is used. Health leaves result from foreseeable and unforeseeable absences.

PLANNED AND FORESEEABLE HEALTH RELATED ABSENCES.

FMLA requires employees to notify their employer at least 30 days prior to planned absence.

  1. Complete Request for Health Leave of Absence form. This information can be accessed through our web site at Human Resources under Benefits.
  2. Obtain principal/supervisor signature.
  3. Take the appropriate Medical Certification Form to your health care provider for completion.
  4. Contact Employee Health Services at (303) 764-3915 to process your health leave.

UNPLANNED / UNFORESEEABLE HEALTH RELATED ABSENCES.

Whenever an employee has been absent from work for five (5) or more consecutive days because of personal illness, or providing care for spouse, child or parent, the employee is required to contact Employee Health Services. Contact should be as soon as practicable, no later than the date the employee returns to work. Employee Health Services (EHS) will determine whether the employee’s absence qualifies as FMLA leave.

  1. Employee contacts Employee Health Services (EHS) at (303) 764-3915 to discuss absence pertaining to FMLA qualifications. If EHS determines the absence qualifies or likely qualifies for FMLA, the employee will complete step 2 & possibly step 3 below as directed by EHS.
  2. Complete Request for Health Leave of Absence form and promptly submit to EHS within two working days.
  3. Medical Certification may be required to support the Health Leave of Absence form. As directed by EHS, complete the appropriate Medical Certification Form and provide to the physician for completion. This completed Medical Certification Form must be returned to EHS within fifteen days.
  4. If EHS determines the absence qualifies or likely qualifies for FMLA, the employee will be mailed a Leave Notification letter within two working days.

For further information regarding FMLA or DPS health leaves, see HR Policy GBGF.

ccSuperintendent

Mountain

The Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools, Department of Student Services,

Denver Public Schools, welcomes you to

(funded by the Reducing Alcohol Abuse Grant – U.S. Dept. of Education)

A Spectacular Location:

Beaver Run Resort, Breckenridge, Colorado – a world-class family resort and conference

complex, a short walk from downtown Breckenridge.

When & Who:

August 28 & 29, 2004.No registration costs for DPS staff.$30/day for non-DPS attendees.Sendcheck payable toOffice of Safe & Drug Free Schools

Accommodations:

Lodging is your responsibility to pay for & reserve.Special lodging rates are available to DenverPublic School personnel.There are alimitednumber of rooms reserved for conference participants, socall 1 800 525-2253 early to reserve your room.Identify yourself as a DPS participant to take advantage of these great rates:

Hotel room $89Deluxe studio $111

Colorado Suite $119One bedroom condo….$123Two bedroom condo….$179

Cancellations are your responsibility.

Meals:

Breakfast and lunch provided on both days by the Safe & Drug Free Schools Office.

Credit:

One semester hour of district approved inservice credit available for attending both days, $25, payable at conference.A certificate of attendance will also be provided. We are unable to pay an honorarium for attending or mileage reimbursement.

To register:

Fax (303 405-6624) or mail (OSDFS, 1330 Fox St.), or e-mail (use OUTLOOK) the completed form (below) to Lynne Popkowski, no later than August 20, 2004.Questions: 303 405-6625.

Registrants will receive detailed information once we receive your registration.

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See Agenda and Course Descriptions

Name: ______

School: ______

Phone: (work) ______(home) ______