D91 Employee News:

Tuesday wasn’t a typical day for D91 juniors and seniors. Instead of learning about college and career opportunities in their classes, juniors and seniors had the opportunity to attend D91’s Career Fair where students met with business and college representatives to learn more about career opportunities in the real world.

More than 85 local businesses, companies and organizations representing a wide area of jobs and career pathways took part in the fair. Students had the opportunity to administer CPR, experience virtual flames and learn about becoming a firefighter and much, much more! Employers were also recruiting students. Three students from CTEC's Cyber Security program walked away from the fair with job offers!

One of the unique things about this year's Career Fair was that students from the Career Technical Education Center (CTEC) were able to teach their peers about the career opportunities offered through D91's CTEC program.

Students were surprised by the variety of careers available right here in Idaho Falls. Many students mentioned how much the fair helped them focus on their career goals and begin to think about classes they can take now to prepare for life after high school.

The really good news is that students don’t have to wait to take the classes they need. Why? With advanced placement and dual enrollment courses, a robust CTEC program and its College of Eastern Idaho partnership, D91 offers students the classes they need to pursue their career goals.

We appreciate our college and career advisors for organizing the fair. We also are so incredibly grateful for all the local businesses that took time out of their busy week to help inspire our students and encourage them to dream big about their futures. Working together, D91 is preparing students for their future!

In this new section in the D91 Employee Newsletter, I'll be addressing rumors, sharing facts and providing updates on the district's budget. I want to make sure we're answering your questions and listening to your concerns.

Here is more background information about the district's budget, including an overview of the different funding sources. Plus, answers to some of the questions we received this week. We didn't get to all of them, but we'll get to more next week. And, please keep those questions coming, submit them using this link.

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Did you know?. . .D91's receives funding from the federal government and the state of Idaho.

• Federal monies fund programs like Special Education, Title I programs that offer tutoring to students in reading, summer school, teacher recruiting, staff development, English Learner programs, and child nutrition to name a few. Federal funds must be used for a specific purpose like those listed above.
• State monies provide funding for teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, custodians, office support, bus drivers, maintenance, insurance, and more. Some of state funding must be used for specific purposes like insurance, while how other funds are spent can be determined by the district.
• District 91 has traditionally spent more money on teachers and staff than the state funds. These additional expenses are paid using funds from the supplemental levy.

Question 1: Will our insurance benefits change? Will D91 leave the State Insurance Fund?

Good news! Insurance benefits will not change. D91 signed a five-year contract with the State Insurance Fund, which means the district will continue to offer our current health insurance benefits. This school year is just the second year of our contract.

Question 2: Is there something we can share with parents to help them understand how attendance affects funding?

Great question! Periodically throughout the year, the district highlights the importance of attendance for student learning. We work hard to help parents know that attendance matters.

Later this spring, the district will host our District Advisory Council meeting. All School Advisory Council members will be invited to attend the District Advisory Council. The district will explain the impact of attendance on state funding during the District Advisory Council meeting.

• Oct. 10-Feb. 23: ISAT interim Assessments, Optional Benchmark Assessments (To learn more, contact Thomas Kennedy, D91's Director of Intervention & Support. You can reach him at kennthom@sd91.org)
• Jan. 29-Feb. 23: WIDA Access Testing Window
• Feb 6: Middle School & High School Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Feb. 6: Career & Technical Education Center Parent-Teacher Conferences, 4:30 to 7 pm
• Feb. 13: Middle School & high School Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Feb. 14: Drawing for CTEC's Skoolie
• Feb. 15: Board Business Meeting, 5:30 pm, District Office
• Feb. 19: President's Day, No School
• Feb. 27: Board Work Session, 4 pm
• Feb. 29: End of 2nd Trimester

D91's Professional Development Department is continuing its Hunting, Not Fishing series of classes with a new session focused on “Practicing and Deepening Lessons." Session 3 will review Elements 9, 10, and 11 of the New Art and Science of Teaching model. The class is scheduled for 4:15 to 6:15 pm on Feb. 22 at Compass Academy, Room 204. Register for the class online.

The classes taught by Shelly Smede, with guest instructors Todd Brown, Andrea Williams, and Thomas Kennedy, are designed to support deliberate teaching, which advocates a "Hunting, Not Fishing" approach -- hunting for productive student engagement, rather than fishing for random answers.

This approach creates an environment that lets students do more of the cognitive work and builds a culture that highlights our students' thinking and strengths. The class also provides try-it-out tomorrow topics.

Credit through NNU is available after 16 documented hours of instruction. If you were only able to attend one day of the New Art of Science & Teaching conference on Jan. 15 & 16, you can combine those six hours of training with ten more credits from the Hunting & Fishing classes to earn that NNU credit.

How do we help students who struggle get the help they need? How can students have opportunities to redo assignments and improve their grades? The Intervention Committee is continuing to tackle these questions and explore how D91 can use time differently to better help students learn and grow.

The committee has been researching how other districts have changed their school schedule to help students have more time to meet with their teachers to get the help they need. This Monday, committee members will visit nearby schools during intervention time to see the model in action. Later this month, committee members will observe a different intervention model at work.

The Intervention Committee also is researching how different intervention models have impacted graduation rates and student achievement in reading, math, and science. A review of attendance data will also be conducted by the committee.

At the end of February, the Intervention Committee will determine if an intervention model is a good fit for D91. If an intervention model is recommended, the committee also will recommend which intervention model will serve D91 students best.

Watch for more updates in the coming weeks. Thank you to our Intervention Committee for its great work!

D91's magnet school – Compass Academy – is now accepting applications for incoming freshman. Compass prides itself on developing innovative creators through project-based and problem-based learning. The priority deadline for D91 students is Feb. 1. The deadline for out-ot-district students is March 1. Learn more about Compass by taking a school-day tour at 1:30 pm on Jan. 26 or 9:30 am on Feb. 12. Evening tours are available from 6 to 7 pm on Jan. 23 or check out the student Expo on Feb. 22 from 5 to 6 pm. Apply today!

We are pleased to welcome Shana Chandra to D91 as the new receptionist in the district office. Shana comes to D91 with more than 20 years of office experience, and exceptional people and computer skills. Before emigrating to the U.S., she was an insurance technical adviser in Australia for more than 20 years where she reviewed complex claims and helped resolve issues.

Shana replaces Beth Davis who is moving to the Human Resources Department as an HR assistant. Beth is joining Maria Chavez and Cierra Hart on the HR team to ensure D91 provides the very best service and support to its more than 1,300 employees.

For all D91 employees who use timecards, we've got a couple of quick reminders from the Payroll Department.

• Timecards should be completed and submitted at the end of each week. Please don't wait to submit all your timecards at the end of the month.
• Remember to submit leave requests before you submit your time card so your principal can approve leave before approving your timecard. This way, your supervisor should have plenty of time to approve those requests before payroll starts preparing checks.
• Make sure you are familiar with your work calendar. Employees work on lots of different calendars so make sure you're familiar with your calendar.

We are pleased to announce a special partnership with Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center making February D91 Mammo Month! D91 employees and their loved ones will receive a complimentary swag bag when they book at mammogram at EIRMC from Feb. 1-29.

An annual screening mammogram is available at no cost for women age 40 and over who are insured. Mammograms are considered a preventive screening under the Affordable Care Act. Physician's orders are not needed for women age 40 and over.

To make an appointment, call (208) 497-6522 and mention District 91 Mammo Month. EIRMC's all female mammography staff have breast imaging advanced certifications.

The Idaho Department of Education is seeking nominations for one of the state’s most prestigious awards, CapEd Credit Union Idaho Teacher of the Year. The award is open to all Idaho public and charter school educators teaching any subject at any grade level.

“This contest is such an effective way for me, my department and the entire state to get to know some of the awe-inspiring educators that we have in classrooms all around Idaho,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield. “If you know of a teacher who’s gone above and beyond for their students, I’d encourage you to take a moment to let them know that their efforts are noticed and appreciated by nominating them for this honor.”

The 2025 Idaho Teacher of the Year will receive a cash award of $10,000 courtesy of CapEd Credit Union and will travel across the state to share with other educators, legislators and policymakers about teaching, curriculum, best practice and more. They will also serve as Idaho’s nominee for National Teacher of the Year.

Nominations are due to the Idaho Department of Education by March 18. All nominated teachers will be notified on March 22 and will have until May 20 to submit their applications. A blue ribbon selection committee will then review each application, and the winning educator will be announced in the fall. Learn more and nominate your favorite teacher today!