D91 Employee News:

Schools are special places. Each day, our children are nurtured and taught as they learn new concepts and develop the skills they need to open the doors of opportunity. Our dedicated teachers lead our students to grow and reach their potential. I am continually grateful for their dedication and service to our children.

Standing behind our teachers is an army of educational support personnel who assist teachers and schools in the important work of educating our students. Our education support personnel provide tutoring and small group instruction, drive our students to school, help students register, clean our buildings to ensure a robust learning environment, deliver supplies, provide technology support, maintain our grounds, serve students lunch, help at recess, and the list goes on and on. Our support personnel are our unsung heroes!

Next week is Education Support Personnel Week. Please join me in celebrating the significant and incredible work of our support personnel, who make a difference in the lives of our teachers and students every single day. We couldn’t do this vital work without them!

Want to thank one of our Education Support Personnel? Send a Shout Out using this link: Education Support Personnel Shout Out

Superintendent Karla LaOrange

Missy Geary of Linden Park Elementary shares what she likes about the Intervention Model.

Please feel free to submit any inquiries through the following link: Ask the Superintendent

Matthew Houser grew up in the small, southwestern Michigan town of Lawrence located about 25 miles east of Lake Michigan. He graduated from Lawrence High School.

He would go about 100 miles the other direction to go to college. Matthew earned his Bachelor’s in Chemistry and got a teaching certificate from Michigan State University. In grad school, he earned a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Western Governors University.

His teaching career started at Eagle Rock Junior High School where he taught physical science for a year. The next year, 9th graders were moved to the high schools. That is when Matthew started teaching at Idaho Falls High School. He has been there for 11 years teaching science.

The 2020 Co-Teacher of the Year is also the Dean of Students. In that role, he collaborated with teachers, counselors, and support staff to create an intervention. He also partnered with the College of Eastern Idaho to create a weekly tutoring program for the students.

Matthew created different ways to interventions and incentives for attendance. This caused the average daily attendance to increase for the first time since 2019. It also decreased the number of lost credits due to absence by 50%.

He loves to get outside for some golfing, tennis, and fishing. Matthew has been married to his wife Carly for 10 years. They have two kids, 7-year old Georgia and 2-year old Hank along with their dog Cozby.

• Nov 18-22: National Education Week
• Nov 22: End of 1st Trimester
• Nov 25-29: Thanksgiving Break, No School
• Dec 4-5: Parent Teacher Conference- Elementary Schools
• Dec 6: On-Line Learning Day-Elementary Schools/Teacher Comp Day
• Dec 23-Jan 6: Christmas Break, No School

Compass Academy Drama is performing "Little Shop of Horrors" this weekend. Show times are 6:30 pm on Friday Nov 15, Saturday Nov 16, and Monday Nov 18. Students are leading every aspect of the play. Atticus Chandler is the Director. Natalie Fries is the Assistant Director, Ainsley Braithwaite is the Choreographer, Aleah Whitmer is the Lead Tech, and Easten Rasmussen is the Assistant Lead Tech. Dusty Johnson, the drama teacher at Compass Academy is truly a facilitator, empowering students to take the lead at this project-based learning school. Tickets are $5 per person. Come out and enjoy the show!!

To give our community the information they need to try and make a difference in this fight, the City of Idaho Falls is planning a special community Town Hall on Fentanyl from 6:30 pm to 8 pm on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at Taylorview Middle School.

Discussion will include:

• Learn how the community can make a difference in battling the nationwide fentanyl epidemic.
• Hear from the U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit, local law enforcement officials, and local healthcare and recovery experts.
• Find out what is happening with fentanyl on the national, state, and local level.
• Connect with community partners sharing resources on how to keep families safe or how to respond in a crisis.

Come learn how you can do to make a difference.

It was an extra special Veterans Day at Temple View Elementary this week. Spc. Isabelle Torres surprised her two kids Raiden and Nylah at today's assembly. She had been deployed to Romania and hadn't seen them in 9 months. Thank you Spc. Torres and all veterans for your service.

Idaho Falls High School: Secretary-Full-time

Emerson Alternative High School: Special Education Support Aide-Limited Full-time

Taylorview Middle School: Title I Tutor-Limited Full-time

Ethel Boyes Elementary School: Part-time Resource Room Aide

Eagle Rock Middle School: Special Program Aide (DACC) Full-time

Student Services Department: School Psychologist

See all current openings here.

If you are looking to view your leave balances, you can find them in the following systems:

• Certified Employees - Ready Sub (A&S) System

• Classified Employees - TimeClock Plus (TCP) System

With Regence Empower™, you can get a personalized well-being experience to help you reach your goals. Regence Empower connects with the fitness and tracking technology you already use and matches you with health living activities recommended just for you.

Not only can you connect the fitness and tracking technology you already use, but you can also earn gift cards for engaging in healthy activities. You’ll earn a $5 gift card just for creating an account -- and covered spouses can earn one too! The rewards don’t stop there -- earn an additional $20 gift card for engaging in other well-being activities.

To start your well-being journey, sign in at www.regence.com and select Regence Empower.

Sometimes it’s hard to know if you’ve received the correct diagnosis or if you are on the right treatment plan. With 2nd.MD, you can connect with board-certified doctors for a second opinion via video or phone.

Access to 2nd.MD is included with your benefits from Regence and is covered at no cost to you. To activate your 2nd.MD account and request a consult, call 1-866-841-2575 or visit www.2nd.MD.

If you need to the send an email to the HR department, please direct those to humanresources@sd91.org.

Work-life balance is often discussed in the education sector but can be difficult to achieve. One of the difficulties in finding a balance is that life constantly changes, as does the amount of pressure at work. The key is to have strategies and techniques ready to use when needed.

This week's tip is...Change your state of mind when you get home

Take fresh air, exercise or enjoy a nice, hot bath. Try to leave behind the day at school. Can you physically separate your home life from your work life? If you can, leave your books, marking and assessments behind. If you do take them home, leave them in a room where you can close the door when you have finished, and make sure this is away from where you sleep.