COVID - I continue to oversee employees who are symptomatic with giving the current protocols and procedures as well as the options they have with leave. Since some things have changed over the past few months, it is important for employees to have a person they can reach out to with concerns or questions since it can be a scary time for them. Reasonable accommodation requests are also a priority for the district. I work with the administrators at each building to have an interactive meeting with the employee to find out what they are requesting and what we can offer.
Title IX - I am the Title IX coordinator for the district, and in August, new requirements were set that deals with how complaints of sexual misconduct are dealt with along with training staff who may play a part in the investigation. The training needs to be something patrons could access, so that limits what training we can do. OSPI is hoping to create training modules for this purpose, but until then, I have asked our principals and classified administrators to watch several videos and read through Policy and Procedure 3205. I have read a book on investigations to help further my understanding.
FMLA - I oversee FMLA and began reading a Family and Medical Leave Act Compliance Manual. The book is very helpful, and I have made a few changes to ensure we comply with the FMLA requirements. The information I am learning will help inform my processes as I work with employees requesting leave due to their own serious health condition or providing care for a family member.
Increased Remote Meetings - With the fact that COVID numbers are going up, I have gone totally to interviewing and processing remotely to decrease the face-to-face contact in the district office. I have been very happy with how they are going, and Nicole Galloway has helped refine our processes to allow new hires to fill out and submit the required forms for employment. It is a positive that has come out of this whole situation because if someone lives outside of Woodland, they don’t have to take time off work to drive here and meet so that we can move substitutes through the process faster.