Thursday, August 6 2026
Action Items
| Schools/Departments | Description |
| Principals and Building Administrators |
Informational Items
| Schools/Departments | Description |
| All Administrators | |
| Principals and Building Administrators |
Action Items
Principals and Building Administrators
Mentor Matching Spreadsheet ~ DUE 8/7/26
Contact Person: Tiffany Judkins
The 26/27 Mentor Matching spreadsheet has a tab for each building with all new teacher hires who have licenses eligible for mentoring. These teachers must complete a two-year mentoring program in order to upgrade to a Professional License.
On your building tab, fill in each highlighted cell with the name of a qualified mentor for that new teacher by TOMORROW: Friday, August 7, 2026.
For additional guidance, please review the KCKPS Mentoring Plan 2026-27 and the Mentor Matching Spreadsheet Directions.
ESL Compliance Tasks – Action Needed
Contact Person: Dr. Jacqueline Rodriguez
Principals, do not forget to update the ESL endorsed list and upload to folder linked. ESL Endorsement updated list can be downloaded from the Infinite Campus data export report. If you need support with the task, please email Connie Thao or Kara Moon. For technical support, submit a ticket to TIS.
As we kick off the year, elementary ESL teachers/aides and secondary ESL aides should be completing one of the following compliance tasks:
- Make updates to their service schedules based on feedback from Connie, or
- Submit their ESL schedule spreadsheet to the shared Google folder (if they have not already done so).
Please note: Elementary endorsed staff, such as Reading Interventionists and Special Education teachers, will also be asked to input their push-in/pull-out ESL service minutes.
Principals need to submit approved push-in schedules by submitting them through the Google Form.
All tasks due by September 20 can be found in the ESL Google folder.
Thank you for your continued support in ensuring ESL compliance is met with accuracy and timeliness.
Principal Access to KSDE Authenticated Applications
Contact Person: Lisa Walker
Principals will need access to several secured modules in the KSDE authenticated applications systems to review and confirm or upload data throughout the SY26-27.
If principals do not have access to the PBR and KIAS modules for their school, they should submit a request by going to this link. They will need to create an account or login to their account to make the request.
If principals do not have access to KITE, which is a separate system, they should reach out to Nathan Harris in TIS after 8/14/26.
If assistance is needed, please contact your ED of Schools or Lisa Walker.
Back-to-School Attendance Priorities
Contact Person: Naomi Tolentino
Attend to Achieve Updates
Our KESA district goal is to reduce chronic absenteeism by 3% through the implementation of the Attendance Learning Network (ALN). To support this work, the Attend to Achieve team has developed an ALN Roadmap to provide principals with key milestones, resources, and supports to guide ALN implementation throughout the school year.
Last year, we saw encouraging progress in reducing chronic absenteeism, with the strongest improvements in schools that consistently implemented the ALN framework with fidelity. This reinforces that the framework is making a difference for students.
This year, our focus is to continue strengthening Tier 1 and Tier 2 practices while providing differentiated support based on each school's attendance data. Over the next few weeks, the Attend to Achieve team will begin meeting with principals to review Attendance Plans and the supports available throughout the school year.
Back to School Attendance Focus
Family Advocacy Days are a great opportunity to set the tone for strong attendance by welcoming families and building relationships.
Your attendance focus for the first two weeks of school should be:
- Tier 1: Include attendance in your back to school messaging and reinforce that every day matters.
- Tier 2: Personally connect with families of students who were moderately chronically absent last year through a positive call, message, or letter.
- Tier 3: Complete Student Success Plans with families of students who were severely chronically absent or identified through the truancy process by August 21st. The best opportunity to complete this is during Back-to-School Family Advocacy Days.
Returning student lists are available in your Indistar Attendance folder. Attendance secretaries have also been oriented on these back to school strategies and are ready to support your building's efforts.
As always, the Attend to Achieve team is here to partner with you throughout the year. Please reach out if you have any questions or need additional support.
Resilience Coach Selection | 2026–2027
Contact Person: Carrie Carpenter
As part of the Student Services Department's commitment to fostering Connectedness & Belonging and our district's focus of BETTER EVERY DAY: Clarity. Culture. Results!, each KCKPS school will designate one Resilience Coach for the 2026–2027 school year.
Resilience Coaches are building leaders who play a key role in advancing our Connectedness & Belonging work through trauma-informed and social-emotional practices that help create a school community where everyone feels seen, known, valued, connected, and supported.
What's New This Year?
As you consider your selection, we encourage you to identify a teacher or staff member other than a counselor or social worker whenever possible.
Counselors and social workers remain essential leaders in this work. This recommendation is designed to build leadership capacity by developing another trusted staff member who can partner alongside them while serving as an additional resource for teachers and staff.
By expanding leadership within each building, we can strengthen trauma-informed and social-emotional practices while continuing to build a culture where everyone feels seen, known, valued, connected, and supported.
Look for someone who:
- Demonstrates strong leadership and relationship-building skills.
- Is passionate about supporting students and staff.
- Enjoys learning, collaborating, and leading others.
- Can commit to attending monthly meetings and sharing professional learning with staff.
Examples include classroom teachers, FACES staff, restorative justice facilitators,
instructional coaches, or other staff members who demonstrate leadership potential and are passionate about supporting students and staff.
Role Expectations
Resilience Coaches are expected to:
- Serve as the main point of contact between their school and the Prevention & Resilience Coordinator.
- Be an active member of the Building Leadership Team.
- Attend monthly meetings and share the provided professional learning with building staff.
- Collaborate with counselors, social workers, and building leaders to strengthen trauma-informed and social-emotional practices throughout the building.
- Promote district resilience and prevention initiatives, including Trauma-Informed Tuesdays, community events, and the Enough is Enough campaign (secondary).
Compensation
Earn up to $500 during the 2026–2027 school year!
Please Note:
- Attendance at the monthly meeting is required to receive extra duty pay.
- A timesheet must be submitted following each monthly meeting.
Meeting Schedule
Meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month from 4:00–5:00 p.m. with a combination of in-person and virtual meetings.
First Semester
- August – Welcome Email (No Meeting)
- September 15th – In Person
- October 20th – Virtual
- November 17th – Virtual
- December 15th – In Person
Second Semester
- January 19th – Virtual
- February 16th – Virtual
- March – No Meeting (Spring Break)
- April 20th – Virtual
- May 11th – In Person
- Held on the 2nd Tuesday due to the last week of school
Before You Submit
Please ensure your selected staff member:
- Understands the expectations and responsibilities of the role.
- Is willing to serve as your building's Resilience Coach.
- Can commit to attending the monthly Resilience Coach meetings.
Please submit your 2026–2027 Resilience Coach using this Google Form link
Submission Deadline is Thursday, August 13, 2026 @4:00 p.m.
Thank you for helping us grow strong, connected, and supportive communities across all KCKPS schools!
Information Items
All Administrators
Registration for Virtual Learning
Contact Person: La'Derrick Collins
Fall 2026 Virtual Learning Registration is open through August 20th 2026. All students must complete orientation to finalize their enrollment. Orientation sessions are scheduled for August 7- August 18, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Once registration is processed, a link will be sent to the guardian to schedule their orientation appointment. Please note that students who do not complete orientation will be referred back to in-person learning at their home school for the fall semester. For more information or assistance with registration, please contact our office.
Digital Accessibility is Coming!
Contact Person: Dr. Lauren Hernandez
In 2024, the US Department of Justice finalized the ADA Title II rule clarifying Accessibility requirements for public school websites and digital content. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are what we are doing to help be in compliance with the ADA Title II guidelines.
As a public school, we are required to adhere to these guidelines by April 2027.
In the coming months, the admin newsletter will feature information about how to ensure your department and building are WCAG compliant. Tools such as videos, office hours, accessibility guides, and trainings will be offered to staff to ensure a smooth transition to digital accessibility.
Next week, we’ll cover what is digital accessibility, the basic principles of accessibility, and how it aligns to our mission, vision, and strategic plan.
For more information about digital accessibility, please see our website for more information.
Certified New Hires & Transfer Late start process
Contact Person: Shaunteh Jones
Beginning August 11, 2026, please follow the 3-Day “Late Start” Checklist Process for all certified staff transfers and new hires..
The complete process and checklist are available in the Administrator's HR Guide.
KCKPS Administrator's HR Guide
Transfer / Late start Process (3-Day)
Principals and Building Administrators
Language Support for FA Days
Contact Person: Dasiel Suarez
Language support is available to schools during Family Advocacy Days. Teachers will have access to unlimited, on-demand services through Propio throughout the entire FA Week (August 10-14).
Please note:
- There are FA-specific Propio credentials (phone number and live video access code) that are only active during FA Week, August 10–14.
- Encourage staff to use the FA-specific Propio credentials during FA Week so we can accurately track usage and expenses and continue providing the highest-quality interpretation services.
- Do not use the FA-specific Propio credentials (phone number or access code) before or after FA Week, as they will be deactivated.
Onsite Interpreter
If your building requires a Spanish in-person interpreter to support meetings that are difficult to handle through Propio, please ensure that the request is submitted through the Onsite Interpreter Request Form on the Language Support page.
If parent meetings can be supported through Propio, please ensure that your staff uses the FA-specific Propio credentials.
Helpful Tips:
- Identify specific meeting times when requesting in-person interpreters; this will help us assign interpreters more efficiently.
- Bilingual staff can provide language support during FA based on their designated roles and the three tiers of language support. For more information, please refer to the Language Support page
- Do not request an interpreter for an entire FA Day if they will not be needed all day.
Help us support our families by identifying meeting times and submitting in-person interpreter requests for those specific times.
For more information, email language.support@kckps.org