At the January 21, 2020, Board of Education meeting, the following updates were provided:

•February Professional Development Day: Plans are underway to organize sessions for staff, divided into elementary and secondary groups. Elizabeth Willem will present on the framework for a dual-language approach. Additionally, a consultant from the “I Love You Guys” Foundation will train staff on updated safety procedures following their protocol.

• Safety Training: The timing aligns with recent updates to the foundation’s Standard Response Protocol (SRP). The district is fortunate to have retired Lieutenant Kevin Byrd, a nationally recognized school and campus safety expert, leading a full day of training.

• Paraprofessional Development: A survey was distributed to paraprofessional staff to identify their interests for the February 14th professional development day. The staff indicated a need for training on handling behavioral situations and verbal de-escalation strategies.

• May Professional Development Day: The additional day in May presents another opportunity to provide targeted professional development for paraprofessional staff.

• BrightBytes Implementation: As part of the district’s move towards being future-ready, they have contracted with Clarity to utilize their data and analytics platform, BrightBytes. This tool will help gather data from staff and students securely, perform analysis, and inform future action plans for professional development and infrastructure. Surveys for staff are scheduled to roll out in February.

These initiatives aim to enhance staff training, improve safety protocols, and utilize data-driven strategies for future planning.