This newsletter will 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

Calendars

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

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

Also, you can print your newsletters or an individual post by just clicking the "print" button on the bottom right hand corner of a post. 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

For training courses that can be accessed without a registered ParentSquare account, please click here.

• 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.
• Continue reading for updates about compliance training, New Hire Orientation, and employee ID badges.

Annual compliance enrollment began August 1st. Please check your email for KnowB4 access links, or go to KnowB4 in the SSO Portal to get started. You have 90 days from enrollment to complete the training, and it is to be completed during regularly scheduled work hours. Please work with your principal to set aside the time to complete it before the due date. Please contact Amber Forbes, Supervisor of Human Resources, for questions about compliance training. Newly hired staff will complete this training at their scheduled orientation.

New Hire Orientation is now scheduled for Monday mornings from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in The Learning Center (third floor of Central Office). Please be aware that The Learning Center is reserved for this training on a weekly basis. Please contact Amber Forbes, Supervisor of Human Resources, for questions.

All JCS staff will receive new ID badges this school year. We will use your yearbook photo from last year. If you do not have a yearbook photo from last year, immediately report to Central Office to have an ID badge created. Molly Creedon can assist you with questions about employee ID badges.

Please view the "Employee ID Badges" web page, linked on the Human Resources department page and under the Staff button on all websites. You will find information about how to get a new badge if you are newly hired, have a name change or need a replacement badge for other reasons. All replacement employee ID badges will continue to be managed through Central Office.

At the elementary school level only, requests for new or replacement student ID badges should be made to your administrative secretary or principal. They will make contact with Tracey Coffey to place school-wide requests for student ID badge replacements. The middle schools and high school print their own student ID badges.

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.

Open enrollment for the sick bank each year is for the months of August through October. The sick bank applies to certified staff. In the next few weeks, emails from Finance will go out to certified staff informing each individual if they are a participant in the sick bank. If you are not currently a participant and are interested, you can find the Sick Bank Application on our department web page under Employee Forms.

Classified staff may donate sick leave to other classified staff if an employee is in need, and all criteria have been met. Find the Sick Leave Donation Form on our department web page under Employee Forms.

Employees will be able to view their individual annual salary or hourly pay rate for the 2024-2025 school year in Skyward in the SSO Portal starting August 5th. Once in Skyward, go to Employee Information tab on the top of the screen. From there, go to Personal Information > Personnel Info > Assignments. Select the drop-down arrow next to your assignment, then open Salary Information. See the screen shots below:

Attendance has been confirmed for all July sessions in Learning Stream. All classified staff, college interns, and special guests in need of a certificates of attendance may send an email request with their full name and all sessions attended to Tracey Coffey. Your certificates will be sent via email upon request.

View our Professional Learning | TLC web page to find information about Learning Stream accounts and the 2024-2025 JCS New Training Request Form. Complete this form to have your session information entered into Learning Stream for registration, evaluation, and certificate management. Presenters can utilize their Learning Stream instructor accounts to email participants, take attendance, and track certificate delivery of their participants.

Please submit your upcoming sessions well in advance to advertise and gain participant interest. Contact me if you would like to present for the district, and earn hourly pay for your time! I can assist you with the process.

Thank you, all!

Tracey Coffey ~ TLC Manager

(423) 434-5218

The next Johnson City Board of Education meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 3 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.

Vidya Yoga and Fitness - located downtown Johnson City at 111 Montgomery St. THIS IS FOR ALL full-time employees certified AND classified. On the advertisement is says teachers, but is open to all full time employees.

The Vols are inviting all Tennessee Educators for a fun filled day on Rocky Top as the Vols take on Chattanooga on Saturday, August 31 at 12:45 PM for Teacher Appreciation Day presented by United Way of Greater Knoxville & Texas Roadhouse!

Stop by the FanHQ Tent in Vol Village from 9:15 AM -12:15 PM for special offers from Texas Roadhouse and the United Way of Greater Knoxville.

Purchase Tickets Here