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March Newsletter
from Multnomah Education Service District
Spring is Around the Corner!
Classified Employee Appreciation Week
March 4-8 is Classified Employee Appreciation Week! While we appreciate our staff year-round, every year during the first full week of March, we celebrate our classified employees. Thank you for the hard work and dedication shown to support our students toward their highest achievement.
Join MESD as we express appreciation and celebrate the invaluable contributions made by our classified employees in education. They hold jobs with titles like:
Accountant
Accounting Assistant
Administrative Assistant
Application Developer
AT/AAC Provider
Behavior Support Facilitator
Business Systems
Campus Gang Prevention Assistant
Campus Safety Monitor
Caregiver
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA)
College Transition Specialist
Custodian
Customer Support Analyst
Driver
Educational Assistant
Employment Training Technician
Environmental Education Operations Specialist
Food Service Assistant
Health & Fitness Assistant
Health Screener
Licensed Physical Therapy Assistant (LPTA)
Licensed Practical Nurse
Payroll Specialist
Program Evaluation & Data Specialist
Program Specialist ODS
Purchasing Support Analyst
Regional Employment Consultant & Trainer
School Health Assistant
Senior Accountant
Senior Communications Specialist
Senior Payroll Specialist
Senior Transition Specialist
Spanish Speaking Student Service Assistant
Speech Language Pathology Assistant
Student Attendance Liaison
Systems Administrator/Developer
Technology Support Technician
Transition Specialist
Wide Area Network Administrator
Thank you again to our classified employees!
New Podcast Episode: Understanding Your "Why" with Superintendent James Hiu
For this month’s episode, MESD Superintendent Dr. Paul Coakley interviewed Gresham-Barlow Superintendent James Hiu. Together, they talked about the importance of mentors and colleagues as thought partners and about why it’s critical to understand your “why” when working in the field of education.
Listen and subscribe to “Leaders Build Leaders with Dr. Coakley” on the following platforms:
Program & Department Highlights
HR Update with Sam Breyer
It’s great to be back at MESD! I’ve always believed MESD has a critical role to play in quality regional education, and know the staff is skilled and passionate about supporting students in so many areas.
For those who don’t know me, I’ve worked in education in Multnomah County for almost 25 years. I started as a teacher in Gresham-Barlow, served as an administrator in a variety of roles in Centennial School District, and had the pleasure of supporting MESD as superintendent for five years. Most recently, I’ve been coaching education leaders across the state but jumped at the opportunity to come back to MESD.
I’m excited about the work ahead. I’ll provide you monthly updates through this newsletter to share how HR continues to work to meet high service expectations.
After a period of staffing challenges, HR has added several new team members, reorganized duties according to identified needs, and committed to continuous improvement. I look forward to introducing you further to the team members in the coming months, but wanted to begin by highlighting our priorities:
1. Improve Responsiveness
When you reach out to Human Resources, you deserve to get timely and accurate responses. I’ve already had feedback from people that they’ve seen an appreciable improvement. Know that we’ll continue to focus on this. When we fail to meet high expectations, we’ll acknowledge and address the issue and work to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
To ensure we continue strong, collaborative relationships with our labor partners, one of my first actions was to reach out to union leadership teams and build connections.
We’ll be entering bargaining with all employee groups this spring and I want to ensure those conversations are built on respect, collaboration, and mutual problem-solving.
3. Effective Recruiting, Hiring, and Retention Practices
HR is working hard to ensure that we are operating an effective, efficient hiring process that brings the best additions to our existing team while building a culturally responsive workforce.
4. Ensuring Long Term Stability in Human Resources
In addition to the strong team members already in HR, the district will be conducting a rigorous, inclusive process to hire a permanent Director of Human Resources in the coming months. Look for more information about this soon!
Canva for Education Available for Everyone at MESD - For FREE!
MESD is excited to announce that through the collaboration between the Communications Team, Cascade Technology Alliance, and Canva, we are now offering Canva for Education for free for all employees!
Each person will be able and is encouraged to use our embedded branding and logos to create designs that best meet the needs of the individuals and teams. We encourage you to find creative ways to use Canva in your classrooms as well! If you need some help getting started, here’s a collection of tutorials to get you started.
Below is a link to sign up as a teacher —we are happy to provide you with student sign up links for your classes upon request. Stay tuned for future MESD + Canva resources!
Special kudos to Celine, Tessa, and David for making this resource available!
MESD Staff Thinks Outside the Office
SHS Immunization Team
The MESD School Health Services Immunizations team partners with Multnomah County to support Immunization clinics for state-mandated vaccines. Pictured here are Tony Ramirez and Susan Korst at the Blazers Boys & Girls Club site.
FLY U Program - Trail Blazers Field Trip
Students at Oliver Middle School who participate in the FLY U program were invited on a field trip to check out an electrifying behind-the-scenes glimpse into game-day operations and receive insightful tours of Broadcasting, Marketing, and the Trail Blazers’ facilities. Check out their Instagram Reel to see more!
Take the MESD Staff Survey!
You are invited to participate in MESD’s annual staff climate survey. We want to learn more about your experiences at MESD and to use this information to take action towards a more equitable organization. The survey opened on February 27 and it will only take 15 minutes of your time. Please check your inbox for more details to participate!
Interested in learning more? Read the results from the 2023 Staff Climate Survey here.
March Events
Professional Development Opportunities
Building Thinking Classrooms with Dr. Peter Liljedahl
Read more and register for Building Thinking Classrooms
Creating 2SLGBTQ+ Affirming Environments
Monday, March 18th, 11am-12:30pm at MESD Ainsworth Building
Read more and register for Creating 2SLGBTQ+ Affirming Environments
Behavioral Safety and Assessment Team Level 1 Training
Wednesday, March 20th, 8am-4pm IN PERSON
Read more and register for Behavioral Safety & Assessment Training
Visit the PDNetworks site and the HealthEd Training site to see all available professional learning opportunities this month!
March is Developmental Disabilities Month
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month! Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions due to an impairment in physical, learning, language, or behavior areas. About one in six children in the U.S. have one or more developmental disabilities or other developmental delays. Examples of developmental disabilities include Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, Fragile X Syndrome, Tourette Syndrome, and other intellectual disabilities, language disorders, and learning disorders.
Join MESD as we celebrate the unique strengths, talents, and contributions of individuals with developmental disabilities. Together, we can create a more compassionate and inclusive world for all.
March is also...
Women’s History Month
Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
Deaf History Month
March 1: National Employee Appreciation Day
March 4-8: Classified Employee Appreciation Week
March 10: Spring Forward (Daylight Savings)
March 21: World Down Syndrome Day
March 31: Transgender Day of Visibility
Share Your News with MESD
Thank you to the MESD staff who shared their stories with us this edition!
We want to continue sharing your stories and happenings across our district. To submit photo(s) or content for consideration, please email commsteam@mesd.k12.or.us by the 20th to be included in next month's newsletter.
MESD is Hiring!
Know anyone who would be a good fit for an MESD career? Share our current opportunities!