Headlines & Highlights

• Feb. 7 - Regular Board of Trustees meeting, 5 PM, Midtown Meeting Center
• Feb. 15 - Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion night, 5:30-7 PM, Lake City High School Library
• Feb. 16 - High School Academic Pathways Night, 5:30-8 PM, Lake City High School
• Feb. 16 - Middle School parent-teacher conferences, 4-7:30 PM
  
• Feb. 17 - National Random Acts of Kindness Day
• Feb. 18 - Staff Flex Day, NO SCHOOL
• Feb. 21 - Presidents Day, NO SCHOOL
• Feb. 28 - Open enrollment application window begins for middle/high schools
• March 1 - Elementary magnet school application window opens (Ramsey and Sorensen schools)
• March 2 - National Read Across America Day
• March 7 - Regular Board of Trustees meeting, 5:00 PM, Midtown Meeting Center
• March 11 - Higher Education Day at Coeur d'Alene High School
• March 15 - Higher Education Day at Lake City High School
• March 18 - Open enrollment application window ends for middle/high schools
• March 28-April 1 - Spring Break

More details on some of these events can be found elsewhere in this newsletter.

It is an exciting time to be part of Coeur d’Alene Public Schools. It is my great honor to serve as your superintendent. The Coeur d’Alene School District is family. There is no better place in which to learn, work and belong. Thank you for your commitment, dedication and partnership as we strive to do our very best for all children.

We need your help with envisioning a future of education for our students that is yet to be defined. It has been reported that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t even been invented yet. I’m asking each of you to embrace a culture of change. Ask Why. Encourage students to ask Why. Encourage our young learners to take ownership in their learning. This ownership comes when we offer personalized approaches to our students.

When our students own their learning, the sky's the limit when it comes to achievement.

For our students to be well prepared for learning, careers and life after high school, they need a school system that is committed to putting the needs of the learner front and center. Our incredible staff, teachers, administrators and School Board are committed to creating a powerful culture of learning and a sense of belonging for each and every student.

Have a great year, and once again, thank you for being part of our family.

Dr. Shon Hocker

When we began this school year, we scheduled middle school parent-teacher conferences for Wednesday, Feb. 9. To give teachers a little more time to evaluate how students are doing in the second semester, we moved that date to Wednesday, Feb. 16. Conferences at Canfield, Lakes and Woodland middle schools will be 4 to 7:30 PM.

These conferences are for students who didn’t earn all of their credits in the first semester. The schools will contact families to invite them in, and also reserve spaces for parent requests. If you would like to meet with one or more teachers that evening, please contact your school's office.

The 2021-22 family calendar, available HERE ON OUR WEBSITE, has been updated to reflect this schedule change.

National School Counseling Week is next week, Feb. 7-11. This is an opportunity to focus attention on the unique contribution of school counselors here and everywhere. Our counselors have a tremendous impact in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.

It's a great time to show our appreciation for them, especially if your student has benefitted from the guidance or encouragement of the school counselor. Students: If you see your counselor in the hallway or front office, consider paying them a compliment. Or hand them a nice note expressing gratitude for their work.

We are proud to announce the winners of the Coeur d’Alene School District Spelling Bee. These third through eighth graders spelled their way through scores of challenging words over more than 3 hours on Jan. 26. Words such as vulpine, abracadabra, sedge, fractious, brocade, fetlocks, quatrains, flipperling, pinkerton, whirlybird, windbaggery, brutalism, and post-haste. The winners in grades 4-8 now advance to the North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee, Feb. 12 at North Idaho College.

Our District bee winners are:

Grade 3 - Faith Schultz, Dalton Elementary School

Grade 4 - Sophia Stavish, Dalton Elementary School

Grade 5 - Riley Lechleitner, Ramsey Magnet School of Science

Grade 6 - Oliver Van Atta, Woodland Middle School

Grade 7 - Isabella Armitage, Lakes Middle School

Grade 8 - Emerson Rakes, Lakes Middle School

Help us celebrate the amazing teachers and staff, as well as volunteers, community partners and students in our District. We love getting "shout-outs" that we can share on social media, our websites and in community newsletters. Send a brief statement, including name, school, role, and how they went above and beyond, to celebrate@cdaschools.org. And please include a photo if you can!

Wondering about the dates for winter and spring breaks next year? Some families are making travel plans now for those weeks, and we are working to finish the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school calendars. We will take the recommended schedules to the Board of Trustees for approval at the March 7 regular board meeting, then share those calendars with you once approved.

Families of all students in grades 8, 9 and 10 are invited to our Academic Pathways Night on Wednesday, Feb. 16, from 5:30 to 8 PM. It will be at Lake City High School.

This event showcases the academic pathways available in our District. We will have representatives available to discuss dual credit classes, Advanced Placement courses, our partnership with Kootenai Technical Education Campus, and how to navigate a student’s 4-Year Plan.

SELECT THIS LINK for a flyer on this event.

Our annual "open enrollment" application window for middle and high school students is Feb. 28 through March 18. Parents may make a transfer request during that 3-week period.

For all students in grades 6-12 already attending a school through an open enrollment approved last year, you must complete and submit an online application to have your student continue to attend their school of choice next year. Continued attendance will depend on availability of space.

The application form for transfer requests will be active HERE starting Feb. 28. We will notify families of the decision on their transfer request before Spring Break.

Under Board policy, the district guarantees a spot for all students in their zoned school. Our community is growing and there is limited space in our schools. Therefore, not all open enrollment applications can be approved. Decisions on all applications will follow the priorities outlined in Board Policy 3010.

The elementary open enrollment window will open toward the end of the school year. More details will be available after Spring Break.

The application window for students to attend either one of our elementary magnet schools in the 2022-23 school year opens Tuesday, March 1, and continues through Friday, April 15. (Returning magnet school students do not need to reapply.)

Even if you live in a magnet school attendance zone, new applicants are not guaranteed enrollment. Applicants will be accepted based on available openings. If there are more applicants than space available, a lottery process will be used to select students.

Applications will be accepted for these schools:

• Sorensen Magnet School of Arts and Humanities (K-5)
• Ramsey Magnet School of Science (K-5)

Applications will be available at the front office of each school, or may be downloaded from the magnet school’s website.

Learn more at https://www.cdaschools.org/magnets

The Board of Trustees will meet Monday, Feb. 7, at 5 PM at the Midtown Meeting Center, 1505 N. 5th Street. This is the Board's regular monthly meeting.

The meeting agenda is available on our District website under the School Board tab. This meeting will be streamed live on the District's YouTube channel.

Each year our students (grades 3-12), parents and staff provide feedback on how engaged they are in our district's work. These surveys, required by our in our statewide accountability framework and administered anonymously, provide great feedback on where we should place our instructional emphases, how we involve students in their work, and how we all are feeling academically, socially, and emotionally.

Our statewide window for participation is Feb. 14 through March 31. Schools will send you the links when they become available.

We have such creative and giving students in our District, and here's a great example: Lake City High School students in Astronomy, taught by Tammy Wallace, finished the first semester writing and illustrating children’s books on space that are truly “out of this world.” Titles include “How a Roach Gets to Mars,” “Happy Birthday Curiosity” and “If I became an Alien.”

The students donated their books to Head Start’s Community Early Learning Center located at Community United Methodist Church, across the street from LCHS. This free school-readiness program serves families of limited incomes with children between ages 3 and 5. The books will support Head Start’s literacy efforts and be used to inspire the kids to make their own books about space.

This classroom project reflects many of the skills and character traits incorporated in our Portrait of a Graduate:

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE – Organization, planning, time management

CREATIVITY – Innovative, curious, connected

CHARACTER – Responsible, compassionate

COLLABORATION – Resourceful, collaborative

COMMUNICATION – Articulate in expressing thoughts and ideas

CRITICAL THINKING – Analytical, confident, independent, able to solve problems

Learn more about our Portrait of a Graduate at THIS LINK.

Do you know someone who would be perfect for any of these job openings with Coeur d'Alene Public Schools? Encourage them to apply!

School Health Aid: The health aide staffs the health room and provides care to students based on protocols developed and supervised by the registered nurse.

Classified operations positions: Sub Bus Assistant; Bus Driver; Campus Safety Officer; Custodian; Grounds Worker; Sub Custodian; Swing Shift Custodian; Mechanic; Nutrition Services Assistant.

School/classroom positions: School PLUS Coordinator; School PLUS Assistant; Special Education Paraprofessional; Technology Prep Assistant; Title 1 Paraprofessional; Remediation Assistant; Playground Assistant; Behavior Support Assistant; Behavior Intervention Paraprofessional.

Anyone interested in any of these positions may learn more and apply by clicking on the CAREERS tab atop any of our websites, or visiting https://www.cdaschools.org/jobs.

The CDA Backpack Program is an amazing nonprofit serving 450 students in our District by sending them home with packs of food each Friday during the school year.

The CDA Backpack Program hopes to expand to help even more students with food scarcity in these trying times. Please check them out on Facebook, @CDABackpackProgram, to learn about their upcoming fundraising events.

In mid-March the group will pack food bags to ensure students have meals over Spring Break. They are in need of peanut butter and granola bars. We are collecting donations at our District Office, 1400 N. Northwood Center Court. Questions? Contact Carla Zimmermann at carla.zimmermann@cdaschools.org.

The program benefits school-age children whose families may be experiencing financial hardship and do not have a dependable food source during weekends and holiday vacations. Children are identified by school staff and asked if they wish to participate in the program. At the end of school on Fridays, these students are sent home with a nondescript bag filled with non-perishable, child-friendly, nutritious food for the weekend.

CDA 2030, the Idaho Community Foundation and other community partners are launching an effort to foster civility and neighborliness in local communities throughout North Idaho. They will work with the community to inspire answers to "How can we be better North Idaho neighbors? How can we spark ideas to help start conversations among people who otherwise might not have interacted?"

Project Neighborly will ignite efforts by awarding grants up to $5,000 to support inspiring, actionable, relevant projects and activities that develop a sense of community and promote neighborliness in Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties. The deadline to apply is April 8. Grants will be announced by May 9.

Eligible recipients include nonprofit organizations, Native American tribal agencies, civic groups (Rotary, Kiwanis, etc.), religious institutions, public institutions (including public schools and local governments), informal grassroots groups (with a fiscal sponsor) and others.

Project Neighborly is led by the Idaho Community Foundation with support from funding partners Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health, Idaho Central Credit Union and Innovia Foundation. Project Neighborly’s community partners in North Idaho are CDA 2030, Civic Engagement Alliance, Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber, and United Way of North Idaho.

Learn more by selecting THIS LINK.

If you are a parent or guardian of a middle school or high school student, please remember to activate your Xello parent portal. So far, 25 percent of our parents and guardians have done this.

Xello (pronounced Zello) is our district's college and career readiness software that helps develop each student's post-high school pathway to college or the workforce. Students engage in a variety of lessons and activities to develop a four-year plan, explore options, and complete collegiate applications.

By activating your Xello parent portal, you can:

• Gain a deeper understanding of your student’s interests, goals, and plans so you can support them along the way.
• View your student’s progress on lessons. These are assigned in grade level specific courses and are not expected to be completed independently at home.
• In 8th grade and beyond, view your student’s course planner where they will map out a draft of the courses they want to take all 4 years of high school.

SELECT THIS LINK to learn more about the Xello parent portal timeline.