JCS Staff Newsletter (July) | Smore Newsletters

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Dear Johnson City Schools Employees,

As we approach the start of a new school year, I want to extend a warm welcome to all of you. Whether you're new to Johnson City Schools or returning, I am thankful for your commitment to our students and our community.

Next week many of you will be involved in annual curriculum work on July 23, 24, and 25. In addition, I'm pleased to announce that our district-wide technology academy will take place on July 26 at Science Hill High School. It's set to be our largest tech academy yet, providing an opportunity for teachers to collaborate and learn from one another. New teachers, please mark your calendars for the orientation on July 29 and July 30 at the Johnson City Schools Central Office. All new teachers are expected to complete both days of this program. You must register for these activities on the Learning Stream platform in our single sign on (SSO) portal.

Our systemwide in-service is scheduled for the morning of Thursday, August 1. Our speakers will be fellow employees of Johnson City Schools who want to tell “their why” for serving students and families. I am truly looking forward to hearing from several of our amazing staff members this year. We have so many talented and dedicated professionals in our schools who work every day to improve opportunities and outcomes for students and those whom we work side by side with each day. We are grateful to ETSU for allowing us to use the Mary B. Martin Center for the Arts. Please park in the nearby parking garages (attached to the Carnegie Hotel or across the street near the ETSU Minidome) and be in your seat no later than 8:30 a.m.

Before the students arrive, we have administrative days on Wednesday, July 31 and Friday, August 2. Use this time to prepare your classrooms for the first full day on Monday, August 5.

I'd like to express my appreciation to the Johnson City Schools Board of Education for approving another raise and additional adjustments for classified employees. Their dedication to the success of our district contributes to our reputation as one of the finest districts in the state, a 2024 Tennessee Exemplary School District, and top ten in the state for average teacher pay. Our city commission continues to be extremely supportive of our district’s work as well.

I'm looking forward to joining you at the in-service on August 1 and hearing from our colleagues. Should you have any concerns or need support, please don't hesitate to reach out. Your professionalism and commitment to our students make Johnson City Schools a wonderful place for children to learn and grow.

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

Invitations for ParentSquare have been sent out to teachers and staff. Please follow the instructions to activate your account. Some elementary school teachers will not be able to see their students until rosters are finalized in PowerSchool. This also means that a teacher will be a staff member until they have their roster synced to them. This could affect your permissions. If you need help, please reach out to BrooksB@jcschools.org.

The platform syncs nightly with PowerSchool and that is how your parents and students will be connected to your class. There will be five sessions at the Tech Academy on ParentSquare, please join us!

ParentSquare Introduction Video

Please come out to our trainings during the Tech Day.

Training Resources

For users who already have a registered ParentSquare account, modules and webinars to learn more about the platform and its features can be found here.

• 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.

We are so excited to ignite, inspire and innovate with you! You can find a copy of the agenda through this link. Or you can find a master schedule list through this link.

Agenda

Welcome/Arrival

8:00 - 8:30 a.m.

Auditorium

Opening Session

Artificial Intelligence in JCS

8:30 - 8:50 a.m.

Auditorium

8:30 - 9:45 a.m.

9:55 - 10:45 a.m.

10:55 - 11:45 a.m.

Lunch on your own

*Please return on time.

11:50 - 1:10 p.m.

1:15 - 2:05 p.m.

2:15 - 3:05 p.m.

Closing Session

End of Day Survey

3:10 - 3:20 p.m.

Auditorium

Certified Staff – Sick Bank

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 at jcschools.org Departments/Finance.

Skyward – Employee Access

Employees will be able to view their individual annual salary/pay for the 2024-2025 school information in Skyward starting August 5th. To view, after logging into the SSO Portal, go to the Skyward Application. Once in Skyward, go to Employee Access on the right of the screen. From there, Click on Employee Information, Personal Information, Personnel, and then Assignments. See the screen shots below:

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