District Dialogue

The Sioux Falls School District’s (SFSD) Federal Consolidated Application was submitted to the South Dakota Department of Education (SDDOE) on June 30, 2024. This application describes how SFSD will meet the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements and how the District will use funds allocated under Title I Parts A and D, Title II, and Title IV. The impact of these funds will be reported in the fall annual achievement update to the Board.

The Building Classroom Libraries, formerly known as the Teacher Grant, will be held at REACH Literacy from August 1-3. This event is pen to all practicing classroom teachers. Please bring an ID or proof of employment. Each teacher will have the opportunity to select up to 25 books from a selection of thousands. What a great year to start preparing for the new school year!

REACH Literacy is located at:

3605 S Western Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57105

During the 2023-2024 school year, we created about 425 original video programs for KLRN TV, Your Sioux Falls Classroom Connection. Sports, fine arts events, podcast recordings, classroom projects, recognition programs, and much, much more. Not bad, considering there are only two full-time employees creating those videos, that video creation is only a part of their total jobs, and that not all the videos we make are for public consumption on KLRN (think about custodial or EA training videos, videos specific to individual schools or programs, and so forth). So we rely on student workers for help. One in particular has also begun the laborious process of sorting through hundreds of video tapes, from various formats, dating back more than 40 years, and digitizing them for the modern age and public accessibility. But he's done much more than that. Meet Mason.

SHINE stands for Scholarship, Honors, Innovation, Networking and Exceptionalism. We’re looking for stories we can tell about high school seniors, any-age students, staff (yes, you can and should absolutely fill out this form for yourself!), projects and programs. Have a new partnership that is benefitting the classroom? Win a grant you think the world should know about? Get nominated for or receive a state-wide, regional or national honor? Know a senior stand-out on a team, in the fine arts arena, or in the classroom? How about younger students who are leading by example, making giving to charity a priority, or are making the most of a bad situation? Should a program or portion of your school be highlighted? What about some current projects: experiments, field trips, new collaborative lessons?

Send your suggestions today, and keep this in mind for the days, weeks and months ahead!

Have you wanted to incorporate Project-Based Learning into your classroom, but weren't sure where to start? Then this workshop is for you! Participants will leave with a standards-rich, collaborative project that will engage students in rigorous, relevant learning. The PBL Summer Institute is open to all teachers and administrators grades K – 12. You may take this District approved course for continuing education hours or for graduate credit through the University of South Dakota.

In Person Meeting Time: Mon, July 29 - Wed, July 31, 2024 (8:00 am - 1:00 pm)

Asynchronous Time: Mon, July 29 - Thurs, Aug 1 (3-6 hours each day)

Location: Jefferson High School (Sioux Falls, SD)

ELED 592: https://aceware.usd.edu/wconnect/CourseStatus.awp?&course=24SU-55458

SEED 592: https://aceware.usd.edu/wconnect/CourseStatus.awp?&course=24SU-55459

Imagine Solutions Conference is a nationally known thought leader conference that brings world-class visionaries to share ideas on today's most relevant issues. The conference offers an impressive speaker lineup in topics, such as Science and Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Arts, Music and much more. We are excited to provide Sioux Falls School District teachers the opportunity to attend this year's conference virtually. Registered attendees will receive a link to the recorded videos.

During the past 14 years, the Imagine Solutions Conference (ISC) has brought together more than 550 world-class experts to learn, springboard, and leverage their capabilities to effectively address social issues. Their mantra, "a profound respect for learning" mirrors the heart and soul of teachers who "love to learn." The ISC Virtual Learning Program for the Sioux Falls School District was created out of these beliefs, allowing all teachers to participate for free.

All registered teachers qualify for 5 hours of professional development for registering and completing a brief survey after watching all of the videos.

SandCreek, our Employee Assistance Program, is free, confidential, and available to ALL Sioux Falls School District employees and their family members. As a part of their extensive list of offerings, SandCreek offers FREE monthly webinars that cover a variety of topics. Below are a couple upcoming ones!

To register for a SandCreek account, visit www.SandCreekEAP.com and click the “Sign Up” link just below the Log In button. Enter siouxfalls as your company code and complete the signup process! A confirmation email will be sent to complete the registration.

Family and Friends - Relationships

Wednesday, July 10th at 12:30pm

Establishing and maintaining a healthy relationship requires monitoring and utilizing emotional tools to keep those relationships strong. In this class, participants will take part in interactive and lively discussions on the misconceptions of relationships, the meaning of fulfillment, the importance of communication, and the real definition of happiness. This class will conclude with the key ingredients for a successful relationship and create an action plan to strengthen our relationships and recognize areas we can improve upon.

Click HERE to register!

The 5 Buckets Principle - Wednesday, August 14th at 12:30 pm

The 5 Buckets Principle is the science of work-life balance to fill the five buckets of finances, friends and family, work, health, and community. In this fun, interactive seminar, participants will learn the 5 Buckets Principle to obtain the tools to prioritize what is truly most important in life. Participants will leave this course equipped to think about the big picture of life while paying attention to the details that matter most, while learning how to manage their time to enjoy life and the people who make it special.

Register HERE!

At times, all of us face personal or work-related struggles in our lives. The District is pleased to offer the Sand Creek Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help employees and their families find support and the necessary resources when difficult situations arise. Additionally, the EAP is an excellent option for webinars, articles, and other resources to help support our well-being. Our EAP through Sand Creek is free, professional, and confidential. Read on for more information about our Sand Creek Employee Assistance Program.

SandCreek, our Employee Assistance Program, is free, confidential, and available to ALL Sioux Falls School District employees and their family members.

Click HERE to learn more about the Sand Creek Employee Assistance Program.

Our wellbeing portal provider, Navigate Wellbeing Solutions, recently activated Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for our wellbeing portal and launched a new texting MFA option. With this launch, participants now have the option to either use text message or app-based authentication!

• Text Message (SMS) Authentication: Receive a verification code via text message on your mobile phone.
• Text Message How-to-Guide
• Text Message Instructional Video
• App-based Authentication: Continue using the authentication app you currently have set up.
• If you choose to utilize the app-based authentication, we recommend using Microsoft Authenticator as your authentication app!
• App-Based How-to-Guide

Should you need any assistance, the Navigate customer service team is ready to help. Please do not hesitate to reach out for support.

Don’t Wait, Hydrate Challenge

The Don’t Wait, Hydrate Challenge (part of the wellness program) kicked off on June 24th! With this challenge, participants are discovering tips and tricks to up their hydration game, leaving them feeling energized and ready to conquer each day.

Below are the current Top 5 teams:

1. Old School Flyers
2. Parched Panthers (PHMS)
3. WHS Teachers and Spouses
4. RF/CC
5. Aqua Chuggers

Registered for the challenge? Don’t forget to log on and track your daily water intake in ounces! Track at least 32 ounces for at least 20 of the 28 days to successfully complete the challenge!

Multi-Factor Authentication Update: Navigate Wellbeing recently introduced a text message authentication option for their portal. (Text Message (SMS) Authentication: Receive a verification code via text message on your mobile phone.) Click the links below for how to set it up!

• Text Message How-to-Guide
• Text Message Instructional Video