July 23, 2026 RCSD Leadership Digest
Business Services
Starting July 1, 2026 the discounted rates for RCSD employees to rent vehicles from Enterprise under the District’s agreement with them have increased. The Account number and pin code have also changed. Under the agreement between RCSD and Enterprise, RCSD employees may book vehicles for personal use while receiving the negotiated business rates. Booking instructions and rates are attached for reference:
Contact: Micaela Mercer
Communications
Starting on July 24, ParentSquare text messages will be sent from dedicated 10-digit phone numbers instead of a shared short code. For example, a direct message from a teacher will arrive from a different number than a post sent by the school office. This change helps recipients better organize and recognize conversations.
This update aligns with industry-wide requirements from mobile carriers and helps ensure reliable delivery while reducing the risk of messages being flagged as spam.
Admin resources:
Contact: Jessica Hull
Educational Services
District Art Docent Lead
We are in search of an Art Docent Lead for the school year. The position's responsibilities involve supporting the organization of the program and training the site docents. If you know of someone who may be interested, please reach out to me. I can share more details.
Contact: Rachael Peck
Raptor - Beginning of the Year
Log in to Raptor in order to ensure you are up to date with the app (phone and/or IPad) and to receive emergency notifications for your school site. When you first log in, you will be prompted to authenticate it. If you need assistance, please refer to this article on Zendesk. Please know that you do not need to download a new app on the IPad as the Google Authenticator app is already on all school IPads. Please also make sure you have notifications enabled for critical alerts.
Contact: Rachael Peck
Emergency Alert Buttons
Please review this Google sheet and update any needed information by July 31st. There can only be four site contacts, therefore if you have more, please remove one. Once it is updated, please remove the yellow highlight on your school name. These are the contacts that will be notified via text and email when/if your emergency alert button is engaged. As a reminder, this is the button under a desk that signals an armed intruder. If it is accidentally engaged, please call Sonitrol immediately to let them know. Your front office should also be testing this button throughout the year to ensure it is working, battery is functional, and alerts are being received. For more information about the button, testing, and alerts, please see the Site Safety Information.
Contact: Rachael Peck
Safety Communication
Please review the Communications Overview which includes our emergency protocols and proactive conversations for sites to share with families. It also includes our communication protocol for 911 calls.
Contact: Rachael Peck
Site Safety Information
Site Safety Information
The document linked above contains all things safety related for school sites. The first page serves as a title page that provides links to locations on the document. All site administrators need to understand each item. Some of the items are admin specific only, while others are specific for front office staff, all staff, and families.
Contact: Rachael Peck
PBISapps SWIS
SWIS does not automatically roster students OR staff. Administrators or PBIS Leads with SWIS admin access need to add staff in one of these two ways:
Contact: Lauren Ellison
504 Site Coordinator
Not all sites use a stipend position for 504 coordinators, so please fill out this 504 coordinator doc as soon as you know who your 504 Coordinator(s) will be this year. There will be a meeting on August 17th for NEW 504 Coordinators. All 504 Coordinators (new and returning) will meet on August 31st. Please list your Coordinator(s) so I can get calendar invitations out ASAP.
Contact: Lauren Ellison
English Learners: Designated English Language Development (ELD)
English Learners: Ellevation / EL Student Lists
Interpreter & Translation Services
For interpreter (in-person), written translation, or Language Line services, please work with your site's Administrative Secretary to submit requests. Procedures were shared with site clerical this week. Please ensure your teachers and staff are aware of these resources.
Contact: Andi Fultz
i-Ready Inform Window 1
i-Ready Window 1 is from August 10th-September 4th. The first Diagnostic is automatically set in i-Ready. Please work with your PLCs to know when the Diagnostics will be administered in order to ensure the assessments are completed within the window.
2026-2027 RCSD Assessment Calendar
Contact: Lisa Wegsteen or Kelly Yusim
Kindergarten Communication
Please send Kindergarten Reminder Email - Site to all incoming Kindergarten students on July 30th. The areas highlighted need to be updated with site information. Just as in years past, students in our special education programs stay the whole day, they do not have the early release.
Contact: Brandei Smith
ELO-P Reminder
Space usage for the 26/27 school year will remain the same to maintain consistency across RCSD. The MPR at each site will continue to be the primary location for Right at School with the secondary location being the Library. If both the MPR and Library need to be used at larger sites in order to break students into small groups, that is ok.
Please let Brandei know if you’d like to use both locations each day or would like to request a classroom location so that proper communication occurs with Maintenance and Facilities, RAS, and our LMS staff members.
Contact: Brandei Smith
TK Classrooms
Please complete TK Room Numbers by August 14th which asks the room location and name of each of your TK teachers. This will allow us to add district paid Starfall licenses to their iPads. Please include all general education TK teachers, SDC, and ASD teachers as they were all provided iPads.
Contact Brandei Smith
Contact: Susan Fridly
IEP Meeting Release Days
Please review this document for information about the number of IEP meeting release days allocated to each site and the process for utilizing those days. The allocation was based on the June 2026 projected caseloads for your RSP, SDC, ASD, and/or FSP programs. Caseloads will be reviewed approximately 3 weeks after the start of school to determine whether any sites have caseload increases that would change the site allocation.
During the July leadership meeting, we will discuss strategies for organizing and scheduling IEP meetings. If you have a system or tool that has worked well for your site, please come ready to share with your colleagues.
Contact: Susan Fridly
Preschool Staff Support
Our preschool staff will be available to help support students transitioning to TK for the first few days of school. Please review this spreadsheet for the staff assigned to support your site Thursday, August 6th through Tuesday, August 11th. The sheet includes the name of the preschool teacher or instructional assistant assigned to your site and the name of any specific students they are familiar with and can help support. Please be sure to look at the different tabs to see the schedule for each day as some of our preschool IAs do not work on Mondays.
Please communicate with the classroom teacher about the additional preschool staff support assigned to your site. If you do not need additional support, please contact Tamberlyn Tibbetts.
Contact: Susan Fridly
CPI Training and Emergency Restraints
As a reminder, only staff with current CPI certification by RCSD or PCOE trainers can implement physical restraints.
A Behavior Emergency Report must be completed when staff implements a CPI hold and reported in Power School within 24 hours. The report form is available on the Leadership Digest under Quick Links.
Site teams may use the Behavior Debriefing form to debrief as a team following a behavior emergency. The form is not required but may be initiated or recommended by a site administrator or behavior analyst.
Other behavior incidents that do not result in a physical restraint are documented through one or more of the following ways:
AED Site Management
All sites will have an AED on your campus this school year, complete the google form linked below to designate the staff who will be responsible for your monthly AED checks. (Designee examples: principal, assistant principal, clerical, custodian) Ensure this form is completed by 8/4/2026.
Contact: Megan Mercado
Staff Meeting Health Training Sign-Up
Your site Credentialed School Nurse will be attending a staff meeting during the month of August/Early September to provide medication administration training in preparation for field trips. This training will take 40 minutes to deliver.
Contact: Megan Mercado
Health Team Office Space
Below are the office locations for your health team based on what was submitted at the end of last year. Weekly schedules are set for nurses and health assistants. If you have a critical conflict that can’t be adjusted please email immediately.
Contact: Megan Mercado
Health Services Reminders
For donated snacks at sites keep in mind that if snacks are donated, and do not go through our food services department, they need to be screened for the following high occurrence allergies.
Peanut-Free table PowerSchool Report Instructions
Share the the linked document above with your clerical staff so that a report can be run for your meal duty staff on the first day of school before lunch.
Contact: Megan Mercado
MDS Training Requirement:
In an effort to try and streamline MDS training and prepare them to help in the lunchroom, a video training was developed and is linked here.
We are in search of an Art Docent Lead for the school year. The position's responsibilities involve supporting the organization of the program and training the site docents. If you know of someone who may be interested, please reach out to me. I can share more details.
Contact: Rachael Peck
Raptor - Beginning of the Year
Log in to Raptor in order to ensure you are up to date with the app (phone and/or IPad) and to receive emergency notifications for your school site. When you first log in, you will be prompted to authenticate it. If you need assistance, please refer to this article on Zendesk. Please know that you do not need to download a new app on the IPad as the Google Authenticator app is already on all school IPads. Please also make sure you have notifications enabled for critical alerts.
Contact: Rachael Peck
Emergency Alert Buttons
Please review this Google sheet and update any needed information by July 31st. There can only be four site contacts, therefore if you have more, please remove one. Once it is updated, please remove the yellow highlight on your school name. These are the contacts that will be notified via text and email when/if your emergency alert button is engaged. As a reminder, this is the button under a desk that signals an armed intruder. If it is accidentally engaged, please call Sonitrol immediately to let them know. Your front office should also be testing this button throughout the year to ensure it is working, battery is functional, and alerts are being received. For more information about the button, testing, and alerts, please see the Site Safety Information.
Contact: Rachael Peck
Safety Communication
Please review the Communications Overview which includes our emergency protocols and proactive conversations for sites to share with families. It also includes our communication protocol for 911 calls.
Contact: Rachael Peck
Site Safety Information
Site Safety Information
The document linked above contains all things safety related for school sites. The first page serves as a title page that provides links to locations on the document. All site administrators need to understand each item. Some of the items are admin specific only, while others are specific for front office staff, all staff, and families.
Contact: Rachael Peck
PBISapps SWIS
SWIS does not automatically roster students OR staff. Administrators or PBIS Leads with SWIS admin access need to add staff in one of these two ways:
- Add multiple staff members at once: Powerschool Staff Import
- Add individual staff members: Please note, this is a two step process done through Person Management first THEN User Management. Person Management and User Management Steps
Contact: Lauren Ellison
504 Site Coordinator
Not all sites use a stipend position for 504 coordinators, so please fill out this 504 coordinator doc as soon as you know who your 504 Coordinator(s) will be this year. There will be a meeting on August 17th for NEW 504 Coordinators. All 504 Coordinators (new and returning) will meet on August 31st. Please list your Coordinator(s) so I can get calendar invitations out ASAP.
Contact: Lauren Ellison
English Learners: Designated English Language Development (ELD)
- All students who are classified as an English Learner (EL) must receive daily Designated English Language Development (ELD)
- K-5 Action Item (early August): Please review ELD requirements with staff and ensure that teachers are able to “point to” Designated ELD time in their daily schedule
- Middle School Action Item (July/August): Please work with your registrar and EL Site Leaders to ensure that all EL students are registered in a section of ELD
English Learners: Ellevation / EL Student Lists
- EL Site Leaders will need 10 minutes at an August or early September staff meeting to present Ellevation, EL student lists, and ELPAC levels
- Action Item: Please meet with EL Site Leader(s) to schedule time at a staff meeting in August or early September (they will need about 10 minutes) for them to present information about Ellevation and how to learn more about our Multilingual Learners
Interpreter & Translation Services
For interpreter (in-person), written translation, or Language Line services, please work with your site's Administrative Secretary to submit requests. Procedures were shared with site clerical this week. Please ensure your teachers and staff are aware of these resources.
Contact: Andi Fultz
i-Ready Inform Window 1
i-Ready Window 1 is from August 10th-September 4th. The first Diagnostic is automatically set in i-Ready. Please work with your PLCs to know when the Diagnostics will be administered in order to ensure the assessments are completed within the window.
2026-2027 RCSD Assessment Calendar
Contact: Lisa Wegsteen or Kelly Yusim
Kindergarten Communication
Please send Kindergarten Reminder Email - Site to all incoming Kindergarten students on July 30th. The areas highlighted need to be updated with site information. Just as in years past, students in our special education programs stay the whole day, they do not have the early release.
Contact: Brandei Smith
ELO-P Reminder
Space usage for the 26/27 school year will remain the same to maintain consistency across RCSD. The MPR at each site will continue to be the primary location for Right at School with the secondary location being the Library. If both the MPR and Library need to be used at larger sites in order to break students into small groups, that is ok.
Please let Brandei know if you’d like to use both locations each day or would like to request a classroom location so that proper communication occurs with Maintenance and Facilities, RAS, and our LMS staff members.
Contact: Brandei Smith
TK Classrooms
Please complete TK Room Numbers by August 14th which asks the room location and name of each of your TK teachers. This will allow us to add district paid Starfall licenses to their iPads. Please include all general education TK teachers, SDC, and ASD teachers as they were all provided iPads.
Contact Brandei Smith
Educational Support Services
Weekly Schedules for Itinerant Staff
Please review the ESS Staffing by School Site for the itinerant staff assigned to your site and the number of days assigned. For any staff members assigned to your site less than 5 days per week, please coordinate with the other principal and email Connie Bohnenstiehl the days the staff member will be on your campus. If you have already shared that information, the spreadsheet is updated with the schedule you provided.Contact: Susan Fridly
IEP Meeting Release Days
Please review this document for information about the number of IEP meeting release days allocated to each site and the process for utilizing those days. The allocation was based on the June 2026 projected caseloads for your RSP, SDC, ASD, and/or FSP programs. Caseloads will be reviewed approximately 3 weeks after the start of school to determine whether any sites have caseload increases that would change the site allocation.
During the July leadership meeting, we will discuss strategies for organizing and scheduling IEP meetings. If you have a system or tool that has worked well for your site, please come ready to share with your colleagues.
Contact: Susan Fridly
Preschool Staff Support
Our preschool staff will be available to help support students transitioning to TK for the first few days of school. Please review this spreadsheet for the staff assigned to support your site Thursday, August 6th through Tuesday, August 11th. The sheet includes the name of the preschool teacher or instructional assistant assigned to your site and the name of any specific students they are familiar with and can help support. Please be sure to look at the different tabs to see the schedule for each day as some of our preschool IAs do not work on Mondays.
Please communicate with the classroom teacher about the additional preschool staff support assigned to your site. If you do not need additional support, please contact Tamberlyn Tibbetts.
Contact: Susan Fridly
CPI Training and Emergency Restraints
As a reminder, only staff with current CPI certification by RCSD or PCOE trainers can implement physical restraints.
- Staff training in CPI by other trainers can still support with de-escalation strategies.
- Staff should not implement any other types of holds.
- Staff should not use any other means to restrain a student's physical movement or move a student to another location.
A Behavior Emergency Report must be completed when staff implements a CPI hold and reported in Power School within 24 hours. The report form is available on the Leadership Digest under Quick Links.
Site teams may use the Behavior Debriefing form to debrief as a team following a behavior emergency. The form is not required but may be initiated or recommended by a site administrator or behavior analyst.
Other behavior incidents that do not result in a physical restraint are documented through one or more of the following ways:
- Student's behavior log if the student has a behavior plan in place
- SWIS or Power School Incidents to document a student's behavior and staff response/intervention
- Log entries to document communication with the parent(s)
AED Site Management
All sites will have an AED on your campus this school year, complete the google form linked below to designate the staff who will be responsible for your monthly AED checks. (Designee examples: principal, assistant principal, clerical, custodian) Ensure this form is completed by 8/4/2026.
Contact: Megan Mercado
Staff Meeting Health Training Sign-Up
Your site Credentialed School Nurse will be attending a staff meeting during the month of August/Early September to provide medication administration training in preparation for field trips. This training will take 40 minutes to deliver.
- Complete this google form to request your top 3 preferred staff meetings for this training by August 3th.
- Principals will explain the need to sign a Volunteer/Indemnity form in order to volunteer, but staff will complete these with the principal at the end of the training.
- Remember that for field trips to be approved there must be staff volunteers for all medications going.
Contact: Megan Mercado
Health Team Office Space
Below are the office locations for your health team based on what was submitted at the end of last year. Weekly schedules are set for nurses and health assistants. If you have a critical conflict that can’t be adjusted please email immediately.
Health Services Reminders
For donated snacks at sites keep in mind that if snacks are donated, and do not go through our food services department, they need to be screened for the following high occurrence allergies.
- Peanuts/Nuts/Tree nuts
- Egg
- Milk/dairy
- Wheat
- Soy
Peanut-Free table PowerSchool Report Instructions
Share the the linked document above with your clerical staff so that a report can be run for your meal duty staff on the first day of school before lunch.
Contact: Megan Mercado
MDS Training Requirement:
In an effort to try and streamline MDS training and prepare them to help in the lunchroom, a video training was developed and is linked here.
- Please ensure all MDS have watched this online training and completed the google form prior to starting.
- The video is 12 minutes in length and covers all first aid and safety procedures that were previously included during the nurse in-person MDS training.
- Your site nurse will be available once you have hired all MDS to schedule a meeting with all MDS to review any student specific concerns or questions they may have.
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