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Communication Archive » November 2015

November 2015

Friends and Key Communicators:
 
Hermiston School District is growing!  Over the last several weeks, Deputy Superintendent Wade Smith and I have been visiting our schools and various community organizations to share information related to facilities planning and the challenges associated with this growth. We are also in the process of fielding two new mobile applications: CrisisManager and PowerSchool. Finally, we want to hear from you about the direction of the district and my leadership. Your responses to a short survey will help to inform me about the direction of HSD and how I might better serve the community. Continue reading to learn more about these items.

These monthly messages are intended to keep key stakeholders informed about the happenings in Hermiston School District and to provide an opportunity to give the district timely feedback about its initiatives. If you have suggestions for other topics you believe should be addressed in a future Key Communicators message, please let us know!

With regards,

Dr. Fred Maiocco
Superintendent of Schools

Facilities Planning.  Due to this year’s record enrollment growth and continued strain on school facilities, district officials and the Board of Education are considering initial plans to address the circumstances. We are studying previous bond outcomes, work of the Facility Master Planning Committee, current issues in the district, and potential next steps.

This active review is part of a five phase approach to a potential capital construction bond tentatively planned for May, 2017.

  • Phase 1. Technical Analysis. Oct. ’13 – June ’15: Facility Master Planning Committee Work-research, data, and analysis performed
  • Phase 2. Focus Groups. Nov. ’15 – Mar. ’16: Citizens’ Review Committee/Staff & Consultant Involvement-CRC presents to Board in Mar. ’16, Develop school/stakeholder teams, Consultant procurement for technical assistance
  • Phase 3. Initial community outreach. Mar. ’16 – Jun. ’16: Initial Community Outreach and Feedback-Community interactions, Phone and other survey mechanisms
  • Phase 4. Community refinements. Jun. ’16 – Jan. ’17: Continued Community Outreach and Refinement-Additional input and feedback mechanisms, Credit rating analysis, Etc.
  • Phase 5. Ballot question consideration. Jan.’17 – May ’17: Board Considers Bond for May ’17 Election-Board authorizes bond, Community engagement and information opportunities, May ’17 election

More information is available by clicking here to access a community update:

CrisisManager Mobile application. In light of recent tragedies in Oregon and elsewhere across the country, I have been approached about what we might do as a district to improve reporting and communications in an emergency situation. To this end, I want to share that during the winter HSD will be releasing a smartphone application to provide “push” emergency notifications to parents, students, and staff.

Throughout the spring and summer, we investigated several available platforms to help us improve our communications in the event of a crisis. Recently, we selected SchoolDude’s “CrisisManager” suite as the preferred solution. The platform permits a user to access emergency procedures (e.g., lockdown, lockout, fire, chemical spill, other hazard) with the push of button on their smartphone. But even more impressive, we can “push out” a message to immediately notify subscribers of a crisis situation on one of our campuses and give instructions as to what actions to take. The system also allows a student or staff member to anonymously report incidents of suspected harassment/bullying for investigation. While not all students or staff may have smartphones, anymore they are an ever present reality in our classrooms and ubiquitous in our community. The app is available on iOS and Android platforms.

We are currently in the process of uploading our unique emergency procedures into the system. The process will occur in phases with training for staff first, then communication and training for students and parents. You can learn more about the capabilities of the CrisisManager suite by clicking on the link.

Please feel free to share with me any questions or concerns you may have about this initiative.

PowerSchool Mobile application. Another mobile application available to parents/guardians and students is PowerSchool Mobile. This is a free software application for your smart device, which allows parents and students to access real-time student information. We hope our families realize better communication and collaboration with the district, leading to an improved learning experience for the students.

Here is an informational flier about the application.

This application is also available on both the iOS and Android platforms. You can find it by scanning the QR Code at the right or searching the app store.

Superintendent Survey. As part of my evaluation this year I am asking you to provide me with direct feedback about my performance as Superintendent/CEO of the Hermiston School District. Comments from the entire community (students, staff, and patrons) are invited on this short survey, which asks about the direction of the district and my leadership. Your responses are completely anonymous and will help to inform me about the direction of HSD and how I might better serve the community.  The survey will be open November 2 – 20, and results will be shared with the Hermiston School Board in an upcoming meeting.

You may access the online survey by clicking here. The direct url is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MMRNCYX.

Thank you in advance for participating!