MONTHLY NEWS FOR THE STAFF OF THE CHIPPEWA FALLS AREA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. CFSD.CHIPFALLS.K12.WI.US/

Substitute Pay Increase

VOLUME 14 | January 2015

Page 2 Retirement

Page 4

CHIPPEWA chirpSave the Dates for the 2015-16 School Calendar!!!

On Thursday, 1/15, the Board of Education approved the 15-16 school calendar. The biggest change on the 15-16 calendar is the removal of our Late Start model and a move to Early Release days. The Early Release days will allow for timely data review, extended collaboration, project

work, etc. Elementary, Middle and High Schools will develop a structure for this time. Additional information to follow.

Inclement Weather Day Make-Up OptionsThe CFAUSD currently has 5 snow days built in to the 2014-15 school calendar for students. Staff who are not expected to come to school on inclement weather days, only have 2 additional days built in before “make-up” time is expected. For instructional staff, additional days may be made-up using the following options:

*District staff development during the summer (i.e., CFA Training)*Building leadership meetings (i.e., summer data retreats)*Curriculum days during the summer (must be on site)*Approved teacher projects (w/ log, principals would track this)

Hourly staff should communicate with their direct supervisor about making up their hours. The options listed above may be used where relevant to your position.

FOR THE CHIPPEWA FALLS AREA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 2

Retirement Reminders

Any teacher who is expecting to retire at the end of the 14-15 school year needs to write a letter to the Human Resources Director indicating his/her decision to retire by February 15, 2015.

An informational meeting for teachers retiring at the end of the 2014-2015 school year will be held on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at the Central Office. Spouses are welcome to attend with their retiree. If you have any questions regarding post employment benefits, please feel free to contact Brenda Musser at x 1901.

When: Thursday, February 12, 2015 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Where: Horizons Lounge & Banquet Center 10764 Cty. Hwy. Q Chippewa Falls

Cost: $5 per person

The community is invited to participate in the One-Year-Anniversary of our Community Conversation for Educational Excellence! This event helped shape the future of education in the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District in a number of important ways! The purpose of this event is to actively reengage our community and to give our community an update on the progress we have made since our initial event. If you have any questions call Lisa Gibson at 715-738-2660

A Community Conversation 1 Year Anniversary

S P R E A D T H E W O R D – S AV E T H E D AT E !WHEN: Tuesday, February 3, 2015 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.WHERE: Chippewa Falls Senior High School Cafeteria

EDUCATIONALEXCELLENCE

evaluator. During Supporting Years, this may include a Mid-Interval Review meeting with peers or the Instructional Coach assigned to your building. In order to assess and document progress of the goals outlined in your EEP, you will collect and review evidence for your SLO and PPG.

FOR THE CHIPPEWA FALLS AREA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Update to Educators: We are at the mid-year point, which means that educators who are being evaluated under the Educator Effectiveness System, are required to review and update their Educator Effectiveness Plan (EEP). During a Summary Year, this includes a Mid-Interval Review Conference with your

FOR THE CHIPPEWA FALLS AREA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION3

Ruth Buchner, High SchoolTeacherRuth has been with the district for 21 years! Ruth enjoys knitting, sewing, spending time with her husband Staish, walking their dog Jack, and keeping up with the activities of her daughters; one who lives in Henderson, Nevada and the other in New York City. Ruth also loves to travel...she is always thinking about where her next trip will be. Ruth is always looking for a challenge! Her work ethic knows no limit and there is no end to the time she is willing to spend to provide opportunities for her students. Ruth is continually looking for new ideas and something more to do or try...the entire time with a smile on her face!Jayne Jochimsen, Halmstad Teacher Jayne has been with the district for 8 years! Jayne enjoys spending time with family and friends and watching her kids sporting events while staying active. Jayne is the “spark” of Halmstad. Always ready to take lead with a positive attitude, Jayne helps lift morale across all grades. She is genuinely concerned for the well-being of her students and will take whatever time is necessary to ensure their success. We appreciate her energy and compassion. Thank you Jayne!

Rosie Hoepner, HillcrestSecretaryRosie has been with the district for 38 3/4 years!! In Rosie’s spare time she enjoys hiking, and playing with her grand-children. Rosie is the face of Hillcrest Elementary! Rosie has been such a consistent piece to what works at Hillcrest. Rosie has a high degree of professionalism and continues to look for ways to accommodate the needs of students, parents and staff.

Karla Adams, StillsonParaprofessional Karla has been with the district for 22 years! Karla loves spending time with her five grandchildren, three of them are age one and under. Karla also lives to make stamped cards and scrapbook. The students, staff and families see a person with an upbeat, positive personality. She is always willing to help out when there is a change in plans for the day. She takes the time to listen to our students’ stories. Karla is a strong team member at Stillson. Thank you for everything you do!

Kerwin Swartz, High SchoolLead CustodianKerwin has been with the district for 36 years!! In Kerwin’s spare time he enjoys keeping his wife happy. Kerwin is the best of who we are at the High School...he makes sure our building is spotless, if something needs to be done, he finds a way to get it done. He takes great pride in being a Cardinal and it shows throughout our school. Everyone, staff and students alike, love Kerwin!

Paula Monpas, Jim FallsSecretary Paula has been with the district for 19 years! Paula enjoys camping, traveling, and spending time with her grand kids. Paula is such a valuable employee. She works extremely hard and gives 110% in everything she does. She always acts in the best interest of the school and students. We couldn’t function so smoothly without her!

Linda Misfeldt, PSCSecretary Linda is one of the longest-serving employees in the Chippewa Falls School District, being employed by the district for over 38 years. When asked what Linda enjoys doing in her spare time she replied “I love going to the cottage, spending time with family, and as my sons say “annoying them”. I’ve enjoyed being a working mom and employee of CFSD for 38 years but can’t wait to retire someday.” Linda has worked as a Board Office Secretary, Elementary School Secretary, Special Education Account Clerk and Curriculum Secretary. The majority of her career has been in the Special Education office. Linda is a highly conscientious worker and effectively multi tasks between Title 1 budgets, organizing professional development, invoice and account management, processing curriculum orders for a 5000+ student school district, and trying to keep the Curriculum Director organized. Her integrity and work ethic are unmatched.

FOR THE CHIPPEWA FALLS AREA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 4

Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District - District Office 1130 | Miles Street | Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 | TEL (715) 726-2417 | Fax (715) 726-2781

Board of Education February Board Meeting will be held February 19th at 7:00 PM. To read December Board Meeting Minutes

please click the link below. http://www.boarddocs.com/wi/chipfalls/Board.nsf/Public

tidbits ...Health Plan Participants

Please review the Summary of Material Modifications located on the District Website.

CHIPPEWA chirp

New Year = New Deductible With a new plan year comes a new deductible.

WRS NewsletterWisconsin Retirement System’s news-letter is now available online, to continue receiving the newsletter go to https://public.govdelivery.com/ac-counts/WIDETF/subscriber/new?pop=t and enter your e-mail address or your cell phone number to receive the newsletter via text.

Substitute Pay Increase

At the December 18, 2014 board meeting the Board of Education approved an increase for substitute teachers and substitute support staff. The rates for substitute teachers increased from $85 a day to $100 a day. The substitute support staff were increased from $8.50 per hour to $10.00 per hour.

These increases will take affect on Monday, January 26th.

Contact Michelle Golden, Director of Human Resources & Public Relations (goldenmr@chipfalls.org) or Nikki Mast, HR Specialist (mastna@chipfalls.org) with questions/comments/concerns

Preliminary WRS PerformanceCore: 5.7% Variable 7.3%