JCS Staff Newsletter (September)

This newsletter will normally be distributed on the Wednesday following the monthly Board of Education meeting. This newsletter contains important information from district departments and other helpful tips. If you have suggestions for content in this newsletter, please send them to Collin Brooks at BrooksB@jcschools.org.

September Celebration Days 2024

• National Grandparent's Day - September 8
• Patriot Day (9/11 Observance) - September 11
• Constitution Day - September 17
• National IT Professional Day - September 17
• First Day of Fall - September 22 (falls on a Sunday)
• Human Resources Professionals Day - September 26
• National Hispanic Heritage Month - September 15 - October 15
• Suicide Prevention Month
• National Yoga Month

Upcoming Performance Dates

September 6 – Science Hill Drama Improv in Studio 535 at 7 pm

Calendars

• Click here to view Printable Calendars for 2024-2025
• Click here to view the Staff Holiday Schedule for the 2024-2025 School Year.
  

In case you'd like to go and support some of your students, here is the Johnson City Youth Football League Schedule provided by the City of Johnson City.

September is Attendance Awareness Month! Having good attendance helps students learn and boosts their overall development. Students who miss too many days of school in Tennessee must participate in intervention programs. Make sure you have reviewed the Truancy Plan for Johnson City Schools.

Truancy

Truancy reflects unexcused absences. A student is considered truant after accumulating 5 unexcused absences.

Chronic Absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism counts all absences. Chronic absenteeism is missing 10% of days (or more) of the time enrolled for a particular school year. For example, if a student is enrolled for 180 days and misses 18 days or more that school year, that student is considered chronically absent. These absences are for any reason, including excused absences, unexcused absences, suspensions, etc.

When students have good attendance, they increase their chances of being successful at school, on all levels. Parents and families are essential in promoting good attendance as they set expectations for good attendance and get their children to school each day. Working together, we can help your child(ren) have good attendance habits and reduce absentee numbers.

Classroom library lists in PDF format need to be submitted to your communication coordinator. If you have updated your library, then those books must be scanned and included. It is very important to have these to your communications coordinator before fall break.If you have any questions, please see your media center specialist.

Here is a video on how to export your list into a PDF from BookSource

This video gives an overview of CrisisAlert, how to use the badge, some frequently asked questions, and badge best practices. Centegix Crisis Alert Badge Training Video

All ParentSquare questions should go to Collin Brooks at BrooksB@jcschools.org.

DID YOU KNOW:

Parents can change their notification settings so that they will only receive a single email for the day - called a digest - around 6 pm each night instead of receiving instant notifications. They just go to "My Account" and then they will see notification settings. Help Article

The platform syncs nightly with PowerSchool and that is how your parents and students will be connected to your class. If updates need to happen to contact information, those changes must be made in PowerSchool.

Training Resources

• Self-Paced Teacher Training Modules
• Teacher Training Video (Preparation Handout)
• Live Teacher Training Webinar Registration
• Training Calendar

• Visit our updated Human Resources web page to find assistance with your employee benefits and questions about the hiring process.
  
• Johnson City Schools is hiring Educare assistants, custodians, and instructional assistants. View our current job postings and apply today!

• Johnson City Transit is in need of bus drivers. Please view the Johnson City job posting for more information about open driving positions.

Open Enrollment for Health Insurance will be October 1st through the 31st. This is the only time during the year changes can be made to your Health Insurance coverage without a qualifying life event. Changes to coverage will be effective January 1, 2025. You will be receiving emails from Partners for Health and Edison regarding open enrollment. Rates for 2025 are now posted on the Johnson City Schools website.

Changes are coming for voluntary benefits (dental, vision, etc) and enrollment will be sometimes in November. We will provide you with more information at a later date.

Welcome to your JCS Finance department!

• Please visit our updated web page at Finance | Retirement.
• 2024-2025 pay scales and the new pay schedule have been posted on our web page.
• Please know that Human Resources now manages most benefits for our system. Christy Fair in Finance manages the Hartford Life Insurance only.
• Our new Employee Forms page will assist you with finding commonly requested forms and the contact person for each one.

In-service transcripts can be printed from within your account by clicking In-Service Transcript > In-Service Transcript Summary. Enter the start and end dates for the time frame you wish to view, and click Filter By Date > Click Here for Printable Version. Ctrl + P gives you the option to save the transcript as a PDF and print if desired. Learning Stream account correction requests can now be made by contacting Tracey Coffey by email or by phone at (423) 434-5218.

Check out our September sessions below. Read more about these sessions in Learning Stream, and register now to attend. We hope to see you there!

The next Johnson City Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, September 30 starting at 6 p.m. inside the Board Room at Central Office (100 E. Maple Street). Board meetings can be viewed on the Johnson City Schools' YouTube channel.

The Johnson City Schools' Communication Department is looking for suggestions for features stories to share with our community. This could be anything you think parents, students or the public want or need to know about can be good features. We're talking student achievements, teachers doing cool things in their classrooms, school programs or offerings that could benefit from a little awareness, clubs... Anything. If there's a visual component – something or someone I could photograph to go along with it – it will be even more engaging. I'd love to hear your ideas!

Please reach out to Nathan Baker or Collin Brooks with your suggestions.