District Teachers of the Year announced for 2015

Michelle Yepiz from Zamorano Fine Arts Academy, Brenda Mueller from De Portola Middle School and Dr. Ronald Lancia from Mission Bay High School have been named San Diego Unified School District's Teachers of the Year for 2015.

These three devoted educators will be honored at the Day of the Teacher celebration scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, at Madison High School. More than 140 Teachers of the Year from individual school sites, district Teacher of the Year runners-up, Future Educator Scholars and Mashin and STEM scholarship winners will also be recognized.

“Great teachers make a positive impact on students by consistently creating learning conditions that allow students to meet success,” said Superintendent Cindy Marten. “These three individuals are skillful and passionate professionals who are not only dedicated to improving their own skills but also collaborating with colleagues to create the best learning environment for students. With enthusiasm and purpose, they make a difference every day in the lives of their students and in their school community.”

Yepiz has been teaching at Zamorano Elementary for 11 years. Her teaching method is an active and engaging style, and her enthusiasm to teach helps encourage her students to learn. In addition to teaching, Yepiz organizes an after-school theater class to expose her students to the arts and coordinates an annual school-wide musical.

“I firmly believe in educating the whole child,” Yepiz wrote in her application essay. “My philosophy centers on the idea that the arts are an integral part of education. The arts must be integrated into the curriculum, not as an addition, but as an enhancement to learning.”

Mueller has been a teacher for more than 15 years, 11 of them teaching science at De Portola Middle. She is a Noyce Master Teaching Fellow at San Diego State University, constantly honing her craft as an educator. Mueller’s main focus in the classroom is to foster a safe environment in which students can participate in productive discussions and talk about their ideas.

“She is able to build strong relationships with her students while simultaneously commanding their best effort,” wrote De Portola Principal Ryan Brock. “Students flock to Mrs. Mueller and often speak of her friendly demeanor. Class observations show a high level of rigorous and demanding instruction. Brenda offers the best of both worlds (rigor and relationship), which makes for an incredibly powerful educational environment.”

Lancia has been teaching for 16 years, 11 of which have been at Mission Bay High teaching an array of classes in language arts, film, yearbook and AVID. He treats his student as individuals, and seeks to bring them together in collaboration.

He also developed a program called ACES, or the After-school Center for Excellence and Support, which offers students academic support across curriculum. For Lancia, the program represents four distinct areas of personal commitment.

“Hearts represents the importance of mentorship and service,” Lancia wrote in his application essay. “Clubs represents the club/community effect I deeply value. Diamonds signifies a balanced approach to academics, a notion I’ve appreciated since studying multiple intelligences. And finally, spades represents digging deeper one-on-one and building relationships.”

Yepiz, Mueller and Lancia will go on to the county-wide competition along with the three runners-up for the district’s Teacher of the Year. This year’s runners-up are Mary Lou Baranowski from Lindbergh Schweitzer Elementary School, Simone Kincaid from Creative Performing and Media Arts Middle School and Shirley Miranda from Morse High School.

Every year, one teacher at each level – elementary, middle and high school – is selected as District Teacher of the Year along with a runner-up at each level. Nominees are first selected by their school sites, and then have the option to go through the application process, which includes writing essays, an interview and a classroom observation.

For more information about San Diego Unified’s Teacher of the Year program, contact Jennifer Rodriguez at jcornelius@sandi.net.

San Diego Unified students stand out at Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair

Students from 13 San Diego Unified schools took home awards, including the Senior Sweepstakes award, after competing in the 61st annual Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair held at the end of March.

More than 650 students in grades 7 through 12 attending school in San Diego or Imperial counties entered projects in this year’s fair. Topics of entries ranged from animal science, biochemistry and computer science, to mathematics, medicine and health science, microbiology, and electrical and mechanical engineering.

Projects were judged and winners were selected in either the senior division, which covers grades 9-12, or the junior division, which covers grades 7-8.

This year, La Jolla High School junior Chloe Kuo was named the Senior Sweepstakes – ACFEA winner for her project on ways to improve movement on manual wheelchairs. Kuo created a prototype wheelchair that featured a hands-free, voice activated locking and unlocking mechanism for the axels that allow the user to use one hand to propel both wheels at once, then unlock the axels using a voice command to operate them separately.

Kuo, a tennis player, was inspired to create the wheelchair after playing a round of wheelchair tennis. She was recognized for her win by the San Diego County Board of Education at its April 8 Board Meeting, where she described her inspiration and showed how here wheelchair prototype works. http://stream.sdcoe.net/wc/boardmeeting040815/ (starts at 32:35)

Other sweepstakes winners and runners-up include:

• Sebastian Mellen from Mt. Everest Academy - Junior Division Physical Science Sweepstakes winner and RED Award recipient (Project title: MathSuite: An Innovative Android App that makes Dreaded Calculations... FUN!)
• Ananya Rao, Marshall Middle School - Junior Division Life Science Sweepstakes winner (Project title: Comparing the effects of natural and chemical oil dispersants on brine shrimp)
• Janie Kim, Scripps Ranch High School - Senior Division Life Science Sweepstakes Runner-up (Project title: Developing a Contact Lens Solution with Increased Antimicrobial Activity).
  
• Laurel Norris from Marshall Middle School - Junior Division Life Science Sweepstakes Runner-up (Project title: Swimming in Sweetness The effects of artificial sweeteners on Daphnia)

Twenty-five students, and three potential alternates, from San Diego Unified have been qualified to enter the 64th annual California State Science Fair (CSSF) to be held in Los Angeles on May 18-19, where they will compete against an expected 1,000 students in grades 6-12 from 400 schools throughout the state for awards totaling $50,000.

Additionally, 17 students from the district have been nominated to participate in the Broadcom MASTERS national competition, a Society for Science & the Public affiliated science and engineering fair that represents the top 10 percent of students in grades 6-8 in the United States.

Marshall Middle School was a stand-out this year with 20 first place winners, 16 CSSF Qualified entries, two CSSF Wait List entries, 15 Broadcom Nominated entries, one Junior Division Life Sciences Winner, one Junior Division Life Sciences Sweepstakes Runner-Up, and 14 second through fourth place winners.

Other notable schools were Wangenheim Middle School with 22 first through third place winners, Morse High School with 25 second through fourth place winners and De Portola Middle School with 15 second through fourth place winners.

Two San Diego Unified teachers were also recognized at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair. Shirley Miranda, AP computer science and robotics teacher at Morse High School, was named the Senior Division Science Fair Teacher of the Year and Dan Grendziak, 8th grade physical science teacher at Wangenheim Middle School, was named the Junior Division Science Fair Teacher of the Year. Science fair students nominate their teachers for this award and the Student Advisory Board of the Science and Engineering Fair selects the winners.

For a complete list of winners, please visit the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair website.

Bethune K-8 students become engineers for the day

Middle school students from Bethune K-8 got the chance to be engineers for the day thanks to Qualcomm and it's Think-a-Bit Lab. Students received hands-on training in engineering by learning about computer programming and working with code to create a robotic art project. Check out the half cat/half dragon that Bethune students created in this piece from Cox Channel 4.

Qualcomm and San Diego Unified worked together to develop the curriculum for the lab and make it applicable and enjoyable for middle school students.

Link to Channel 4 San Diego

Link to YouTube (accessible outside district network)

New CCTE director, Al Love, comes full circle

A Kearny High School graduate, a coach, an industrial arts teacher, an administrator – these are all titles you might use to refer to Al Love. Now one more title can be added to that list – Director of College, Career and Technical Education for San Diego Unified.

Crystal Boggio, John Riego de Dios, Al Love

Love started his career at San Diego Unified as an instructional aid in the Machine Shop Technology Program at Kearny High. He then left the district and worked his way up through the administration at various middle and high schools where he oversaw CCTE-type programs.

Love recently found his way back to San Diego upon being selected for the CCTE director position, which he said was a natural opportunity for him to return to his home district. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and confidence that he can make a positive impact on the future of the CCTE program.

As director, Love’s goal is to align the technical skills classes offered through CCTE with “A-G” requirements so that students do not have to choose between gaining real-world application based skills and meeting requirements for postsecondary education. In order to be considered for admission by UC and CSU schools, high school students must complete approved “A-G” courses.

“In the past, these [CCTE] classes were to the side – they weren’t seen as rigorous or as relevant as core classes,” Love said. “I want to show that they can be both. That we are in unison, and that students don’t have to make a choice between one or the other.”

In order to implement this integration, CCTE is developing course curriculum maps that align with the “A-G” requirements. CCTE will then submit those plans to the UC system for approval.

Love sees this as an opportunity for CCTE to continue to grow. A product of the ROP Machine Tool Technology program at Kearny High, 1980, Love knows firsthand the value that these technical and occupational based classes provide.

“It is personally fulfilling to remember what this program did for me and to see it is still helping students today,” Love said.

In addition to keeping students on track for postsecondary education, CCTE is building the certification process into programs so that students will also be career ready upon graduation.

The Machine Tool and Engineering Program at Kearny High is housed in the same room that Love sat in as an ROP student, and the program’s current teacher, John Riego de Dios, was a classmate of Love’s in the ‘80s. The program recently received NIMS accreditation, becoming one of only two schools in California who can boast this credentialing from the National Institute for Metalworking Skills.

As CCTE adds accreditation opportunities to its programs and continues to align coursework with “A-G” requirements and Common Core State Standards, the program’s ability to provide students with the tools necessary to succeed in both college and career only grows stronger.

Oak Park students talk social justice with Ghandi relative

Students in grades 3-5 at Oak Park Music Conservatory recently had the opportunity to conduct a Skype interview with Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mohandas Gandhi (known to his many followers as Mahatma).

Students have been exploring the roots of the American Civil Rights Movement in their classes taught by teachers Mick Rabin and Mary Beth Milliken. Social justice is an important component of their studies in cultural competence so the students have been reading about the life of civil rights legend, Congressman John Lewis, as well as the very inspiration for civil disobedience, Mohandas Gandhi. Mick Rabin reached out to Arun Gandhi who lived with his grandfather--the man who lead 300 million Indians to independence--toward the end of his life.

Arun Gandhi spoke with the students about his grandfather's nonviolence, finding positive ways to channel anger, and about carrying on the Gandhi torch of responding to the needs of the world's poorest and most oppressed. Now retired, the 80 year-old Arun Gandhi, recalled what it was like to live with his grandfather who modeled a life of simplicity and service to the needy.

The Oak Park students had a chance to ask Mr. Gandhi some questions about his own life and about the peaceful legacy of his grandfather. They composed and shared some poems in honor of Arun Gandhi's famous grandfather and heard some words of encouragement about leading by example and advocating on behalf of the people in society who have the least.

"Thanks to Mr. Gandhi, this will be a day that our third and fourth graders at Oak Park Music Conservatory will never forget," Rabin said.

For more information on the Skype session, email mrabin@sandi.net.

News Coverage:

Third-graders talk social justice with Gandhi's grandson - UT San Diego

Project Ujima Parent Program Helps Students Improve Academics

For more than five years, the district’s Project Ujima parent program has been engaging African-American families in culturally-focused workshops, providing free resources to parents to help their students improve academically.

Named for the Kwanzaa principle of collective work and responsibility, Project Ujima workshops offer lessons on academics, as well as African-American culture and history.

“We have seen so many of our parents that started in Project Ujima that had never gone to a School Site Council meeting or District Advisory Council meeting or Board of Education meeting. They didn’t know how to support their child,” said Program Manager Elneda Shannon. “Some of these parents are now in leadership roles and their children are doing well. We have parents that never had any type of homework structure in their home and now recognize what their kids need to do, started a routine and their children are succeeding. And we have total proof of that with this program,” Shannon said.

To help busy families participate, the program often provides free childcare, homework stations and dinner. Spanish translation is also available.

The program’s all-important goal is to improve student academic success, but it provides parents with much more. It facilitates stronger partnerships and resource sharing between parents, students and the district to promote a productive learning environment for students. It also encourages stronger family involvement and provides programs that respect, value and validate the African-American culture.

Shannon and her key instructors, who are African-American, facilitate classes such as “Understanding the Common Core State Standards” and “Preparing African-American students for Career and College.”

The program comes from an African-American perspective, but all parents are welcome to participate.

“We have a diverse group of parents that are involved in Ujima because the information is good for all parents and for all students,” Shannon said.

Project Ujima is one of several culturally-focused programs offered by the Parent Outreach and Engagement Department. Project Ujima’s success led to the creation of other culturally-focused programs for American Indian and Southeast Asian parent communities. These programs complement other department programs such as Raising A Reader, Parent University and Computers on the Go.

“We want to make sure that parents have good information, good skills and good techniques on how they can help their children do well academically, and that’s what all of our programs are about,” Shannon said. “Our goal is the same: a successful student outcome and building parent leaders.”

Shannon hears from both parents and students that the program has been helpful.

“I know it’s successful when parents keep coming back and when parents share with other parents what has helped them,” Shannon said. “I know it’s successful when I have a parent come in and say ‘look at this report card’ or a student will come and tell me ‘I just passed my CAHSEE and I didn’t think I was going to.’

“I tell parents that you don’t have to know how to do your child’s homework, all you have to do is be there, be supportive and set the rules for your household.”

Project Ujima hosts monthly workshops and provides teachers with educational materials relating to African-American history and culture. In celebration of Black History Month, the department is hosting two events. The first is a screening of the play “The Montford Point Marines of San Diego – Legacies of Pride” on Feb. 12. The second is a lesson on genealogy called “Discovering Your Roots,” on Feb. 26 hosted by district staffer and genealogy expert Marti Lewis.

“Legacies of Pride” is a true story about the experiences of the original Montford Point Marines in the 1940s. They were the first African-Americans to serve in the United States Marine Corps. The one-act play depicting some of their experiences was written by Project Ujima parents, students and community members.

The Montford Point project was grant-funded, as are many of the special projects and field trips coordinated by the staff at Project Ujima.

Students and parents have participated in college tours to USC, UC San Diego and San Diego State, as well as field trips to Campo, home of local Buffalo Soldiers, and to Julian, which unbeknownst to many, has a rich African-American history.

A separate grant funded a parent mentor program in which parents, who have been part of the Project Ujima program and support the Parent Outreach and Engagement’s mission, work with other parents to get them involved. The mentor program was piloted successfully with Project Ujima so the department recently launched it as part of the American Indian program.

For parents or guardians that want to get involved, Shannon says the best thing to do is just come to one of the workshops or events.

“I know that African-American parents care about their children and they care about education,” Shannon said. “I am an African-American parent and grandparent so I know that parents care and that they want their children to do well.”

For more information about Project Ujima, contact Program Manager Elneda Shannon at eshannon@sandi.net or 619-291-4431.

2015-16 academic calendars finalized, transition plan approved

The San Diego Unified Board of Education voted at the Dec. 9 Board meeting on the final academic calendars for the 2015-16 school year and approved the plan that will transition all schools to a common traditional calendar.

The Board approved the 2015-16 academic calendars with a start date of Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015, for all schools. The last day for students who attend traditional calendar schools is June 20, 2016; schools on year-round schedule will end on July 21, 2016. Both academic calendars have 180 instructional days and are posted on the district website.

The start date for the 2016-17 school year is yet to be decided. At the recommendation of the district Calendar Committee, the district will explore the possibility of starting future school years in August, which would better align with other school districts in the county and have benefits for high school students. The district will be reaching out to various stakeholders in the next several months to get input on the possible change.

In addition, the Board approved the plan to transition the district’s 54 schools currently on year-round calendar to a common traditional calendar over the next four years beginning with the 2015-16 school year. Year-round schools that will transition to traditional calendars in 2015-16 include: Dewey, Ericson, Hancock, Hardy, Jerabek, Johnson, Mason, Miller, Porter, Sequoia, Tierrasanta, Valencia Park and Walker elementary schools along with Farb and Knox middle schools.

Transitioning all schools to a single calendar offers a variety of positive benefits and supports for families. Currently, some families have siblings in both traditional and year-round schools, which can pose challenges for childcare, vacations and other activities because students are not on break at the same time. A single calendar also serves families who rely on older siblings to look after younger children.

The move to a single calendar will be especially beneficial to military families since they often get reassignment orders in June while their children are in school through late July. In addition, the transition supports stabilizing enrollment as attendance data shows that absences can increase at year-round schools during the summer months and some schools, particularly those who serve military families, can lose enrollment.

More information about the Calendar Transition Plan is available at www.sandi.net/calendartransition .

State of the District Address highlights successes, future goals

View all event photos

Improving educational opportunities for all students, investing in professional development for teachers and laying the groundwork for Restorative Justice practices are just some of the district’s accomplishments highlighted by Board President Kevin Beiser at the annual State of the District Address Monday night at Lewis Middle School.

“We have so much to be proud of in advancing Vision 2020 and demonstrating innovation, equity and excellence in all we do,” Beiser began. “Every one of you in this room is invested in doing what’s best for our students, and you’re helping make sure students aren’t seen as a test score but as the whole child.” (Read President Beiser's Remarks)

More than 200 employees, parents and community members gathered at the event to hear from Superintendent Marten and Board President Beiser about the district’s accomplishments and what’s in store for the coming year.

Superintendent Marten highlighted several areas of focus, including strengthening the outcomes for Latino and African American students and Long-Term English Language learners, growing partnerships with local social services agencies and pursuing equity and adequacy in public education funding.

“We hope our definition of appropriate funding levels will be a model to be used throughout the state,” said Marten. “We do not believe the student-teacher ratio in K-3 should be 25.5 to 1. For an elementary school with 600 students – we believe adequate funding would reduce the ratio to 20 to 1. It should be 16 to 1 in high needs schools.

“As we advance this conversation with the legislature, we will be calling on all of our stakeholders to join this call to action and get California off the bottom of the list in adjusted per-pupil spending and do what’s best for all of California’s kids,” Marten said. (Read Supt. Marten's Remarks)

The event was preceded by a reception catered by the district’s Food Services Department. Entertainment during the reception was provided by Lewis Middle School’s String Orchestra while Patrick Henry High’s Bel Canto Ensemble performed the National Anthem and sang “No Man Is An Island” mid-way through the event. Watch the video

Media Coverage

School officials take stock of district
UT San Diego

State Of The District: Board President Puts San Diego Schools In Positive Light
KPBS San Diego 

SDUSD State of the District Address

NBC San Diego

SD Unified School District leaders address top issues
KUSI San Diego

2014-15 signals first year of Local Control and Accountability Plan implementation

In June 2013 a new era of school finance in California was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. The new funding model, known as the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), represented the biggest change to funding K-12 public education in California in decades.

“It reshapes school funding, with the promise of additional funding, trying to return to the funding levels of six or seven years ago, and provides us more flexibility in determining how state funding will be used to achieve our academic priorities,” said Jenny Salkeld, Chief Financial Officer.

The LCFF ensures that more money is attached to meet the needs of school districts’ most at-risk students. The three categories of students requiring greater resources include students who qualify for free or reduced priced meals, students who are English Learners, and foster youth.

As part of the LCFF, school districts, county offices of education and charter schools are required to develop, adopt, and annually update a three-year Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). The LCAP is required to identify annual goals, specific actions, and measure progress for student subgroups across multiple performance indicators, including student academic achievement, school climate, student access to a broad curriculum, and parent engagement. The academic priorities must be aligned to the district’s spending plan.

As part of the district’s focus on transparent communications on the LCFF and LCAP, Superintendent Cindy Marten will provide monthly LCAP Implementation Reports to the Board of Education that include the alignment of Vision 2020, the 12 indicators of a quality school in every neighborhood, and which details LCAP Year 1 activities. The reports will include actions, services, and baseline data. These reports will then be shared with cluster and advisory groups to provide an opportunity to provide input and feedback on the current implementation and suggested next steps.

The first report was provided to the Board at the September 23 meeting, and focused on Quality Indicator 12 – Safe and Well-maintained Facilities and how this indicator helps us achieve a goal of creating physical, social and academic environments worthy of our students.

“We have developed metrics to show what we are doing with the funding, how we allocated it, and what the results are,” said Superintendent Cindy Marten. “We have more than 30 measures to indicate how we’re doing for every funding allocation and every decision we’re making for our dollars.

“My monthly reports will allow me the opportunity to share where we are in implementing our LCAP so our community can hear each month how we’re doing and provide us feedback,” Marten said.

Video clips of the presentations, excerpted from the Board meetings, will be posted on the LCAP web page under the Resources section.

Common Core settles in across district

San Diego Unified and other districts across the nation continue to prepare students to compete in the global marketplace as they teach students to think critically, learn independently and communicate better in order to meet the new guidelines outlined in the Common Core State Standards.

These standards align with the district’s goals set forth in Vision 2020 to create a quality school in every neighborhood, and more specifically, provide students with a broad and challenging curriculum.

Adopted in 2010, the Common Core State Standards are a set of academic standards that establish clear and consistent guidelines for what every K-12 student across the country should know and be able to do in math and English language arts. Implementation of the Common Core, including how the standards are taught, the curriculum developed, and the materials used to support teachers as they help students reach the standards, is led entirely at the state and local levels.

“It’s important to remember that Common Core is not a curriculum,” said Jim Solo, executive director of leadership and learning. “It’s a shift in how subjects are taught to students and a change in what we expect students to do with the material we teach. How we assess students is also changing. “

The district’s focus this year is twofold: there is continued emphasis on making sure principals and teachers receive guidance and materials needed to teach students the way the standards demand; and schools are preparing students for the new assessment under Common Core, the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), which will be administered for the first time this year starting in May.

Last year, the district hosted numerous professional development sessions for principals to support them in their understanding of Common Core so they could lead it at their site as well as provide support for their teachers. This year, the district has scheduled more than 100 professional development sessions for teachers that are organized around four themed learning cycles.

Teacher participation in Professional Learning Communities, which allow teachers to share best practices at the ground level, has also proven effective in preparing teachers to teach to the Common Core Standards.

As teachers become more proficient in delivering the content, student progress will continue to advance as well.

There is concern, however, that as the district transitions to more demanding curriculum and new assessments are put in place, students may be missing out on valuable instruction and test scores may appear lower than they have in the past.

Solo recognizes these concerns but thinks that the Common Core curriculum is so much more rigorous than the previous material and the demands are so much more that we are more likely to see growth in student knowledge rather than any loss in instruction.

“You have to remember the tools [for measuring] are extremely different than any tools that have been used in the past,” Solo said. “It’s not just simply asking students multiple choice questions, which was what you had with the CST (California Standards Tests). Now, they have to respond in writing, they have to do tasks with their peers, then come back and write about it. In addition, there will be some multiple choice questions as well as short and longer answer questions. We’ve never assessed students this way in California on a state exam.”

Students in grades 3-8 and grade 11 will take the CAASPP during the testing window that stretches from April to June. Parents will be notified by schools when testing will occur for each grade level, but can check the district’s website now for general testing dates.

To prepare students for May assessments, the district has been continually updating and refining the curriculum that is being taught to meet the Common Core Standards. It spent the last several years strengthening the integrated math curriculum and will do the same with English language arts over this year. History is integrated with the English language arts portion of the Common Core Standards while science standards are being revised and will ultimately follow the Next Generation Science Standards.

“The integrated math curriculum is very strong and will prepare students for college,” Solo said. “It offers multiple pathways at the secondary level that will enable students to reach calculus by their senior year.”

Common Core allows for a deeper understanding of a subject while at the developmental stages. Rather than learning a little about a lot of topics, the curriculum is setup to allow more time for understanding the fundamentals. For instance in math, K-3 level students focus heavily on numbers, being able to break apart numbers and understand numbers in multiple ways. In grades 4-5, there is heavy emphasis on fractions. Probability, which used to be part of elementary school, is not addressed until middle school.

“They’ve done a lot of shifting around of the topics,” Solo said. “A great deal of the research from around the world shows that many countries with really smart math students go really deep in the things that matter at the developmental stage. Then it progresses from there.”

Ultimately, the goal with Common Core is to prepare all students for the global workplace.

“We have a lot of jobs in the country right now that American students are not qualified for. Engineering jobs being one example,” Solo said. “When you think about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), Common Core aligns itself very well to STEM. We are trying to produce students who are ready for the jobs of the future.”

Edison ES library gets well-deserved makeover

Edison Elementary School Principal Derek Murchison was speechless when he saw his school’s library for the first time after its makeover.

The once drab and monochrome environment had been transformed into a colorful, vibrant space with 2,000 new books, furniture, carpet and shelves, and a complete technology upgrade, including new iPads, interactive white board and more.

“Thank you Target and The Heart of America Foundation for this wonderful gift for the wonderful students and staff at Edison Elementary,” said Murchison once he found his voice. “Your dedication to the love of reading for students, not only here, but across our country is priceless.”

Edison Elementary School is the fifth school in San Diego Unified to receive a library makeover over the past five years. Other recipients include Miller, Kimbrough, Angier, and Hancock elementary schools. The official unveiling and ribbon-cutting of the Edison library was held Sept. 26. Students, staff and parents were joined by Superintendent Cindy Marten to celebrate the opening of the library after a month of secret renovations.

“These library makeovers play an important role in the district’s Vision 2020: Creating Quality Schools in Every Neighborhood,” said Supt. Marten. “Quality schools have quality libraries. Quality schools serve as neighborhood centers.

“This amazing program breathes new life into elementary school libraries,” Marten added. “We could not be more appreciative of our partnership with Target and the Heart of America Foundation.”

Since 2007, Target team members have dedicated their time and talent to transform 175 public school libraries across the country through the Target School Library Makeover program. Target works in partnership with The Heart of America Foundation to create fun and inviting spaces for students to read. This is one of the many programs Target supports as part of our commitment to give $1 billion for education by the end of 2015. By the end of this year, Target expects to celebrate a big milestone: 200 School Library Makeovers completed and more than 113,000 students impacted since the program began in 2007.

National honors for San Diego Early/Middle College

San Diego Early/Middle College earned the ranking of 90 out of 500 schools nationwide among Newsweek’s 2014 America’s Top Schools for low-income students. It is the only San Diego County school to earn a ranking.

In its “Beating the Odds” list, Newsweek sought to recognize schools that are performing better than statistically expected for their level of poverty.

“Our college readiness score is 93 percent and we are the only school south of Los Angeles to earn this distinction,” noted Principal Elizabeth Larkin. “We are very proud of our students and out staff for their hard work.”

For this list, Newsweek ranked schools on how well they prepare their students for college, taking students’ socio-economic background into account. The list is the magazine’s way of recognizing schools that narrow the achievement gap.

In addition to the Newsweek honor, San Diego Early Middle College also earned a Silver Medal for U.S. News and World Reports’ 2014 Best High Schools. For more details on this distinction, please visit U.S. News and World Report.

For a complete list of Newsweek honorees, please visit Newsweek’s website.

Keeping parents in loop helped district find its way

IN THE NEWS: Parents of special-education students in San Diego may not always agree with how the school district educates their children, but they know whom to call when they have a problem, and their phone calls are routinely returned. And when the school district wants to get information out to those families, it has several tools to do so — including emails, texts and robocalls — so that everyone gets the same information at the same time. Read more from the Seattle Times.

Lindbergh Schweitzer hosts Resource Fair for parents

The PTA and staff at Lindbergh Schweitzer Elementary School in Clairemont welcomed returning and new parents to their first day of school by hosting a Family Resource Fair.

The fair was aimed at giving parents valuable information for health care, afterschool programs and childcare, as well as contacts for other services in the community.

“Providing resources that can help our students be successful in their lives is a way for Lindbergh Schweitzer to welcome families and connect them to the community – their neighborhood schools,” said Principal Deanne Rohde.

A variety of local organizations were in attendance, including the Boys and Girls Club, S.A.Y. San Diego, United Cerebral Palsy, the National Foundation for Autism Research, and San Diego Unified’s Special Education Division, among others.

Welcome message from Superintendent Cindy Marten

Welcome to the 2014-15 School Year!

As a teacher, principal and now superintendent, those words carry a great deal of meaning for me. The opening of a new school year offers us amazing opportunities to make a difference in the lives of our students. I am looking forward to the year ahead.

I know the start of the new school year also brings a great deal of excitement to parents and students. Our principals, teachers and support staff have been working hard to make sure the excitement extends from Day One through Day 180. Our focus for the start of the year is developing academic, physical and social environments worthy of all students. This focus is fully aligned with our Vision 2020 of creating quality schools in every neighborhood.

Across the district, from bus drivers to custodians, food service associates to administrative support professionals, principals to teachers, we are all committed to making sure our students are on the pathway to success. We are ready!

The implementation of the Common Core State Standards is at the forefront of teaching and learning. Our principals and teachers have spent time over the summer fully engaged in professional development. The Common Core State Standards will help position all students for the future – THEIR future in which critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and creativity are essential. Students will be better prepared for post-secondary education and careers, and ultimately become actively literate contributing participating members of society.

In addition, we remain cautiously encouraged about the budget passed by the State’s legislators and the reinvestment in public education. Although we still face financial challenges and will continue to be prudent with our dollars, there is hope. The new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) changed the structure of how school districts received funding from the state level. Our district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), which involved input from multiple stakeholders, has been approved and will provide a road map with clearly defined metrics that aligns academic priorities with our budget.

The start of a new school year gives us a renewed sense of anticipation, hope and enthusiasm as we work collaboratively to assure that each child in our district receives the best education possible. I look forward to working beside you as we continue making our Vision 2020 a reality.

Best,

Cindy Marten
Superintendent

New year, new leaders at schools, central office

New principal Heather Harris with students at Emerson Bandini.

As with every new school year, there are new faces at the helm of schools and departments throughout the district. As of publication, the following individuals have been named to leadership positions at the following school sites and central office departments.

Principal Appointments:
Lincoln High School - John Ross
Mission Bay High - Ernest Remillard
Bell Middle - Precious Hubbard-Jackson
Balboa Elementary - Hector Bravo
Cabrillo Elementary - Irene Hightower
Emerson/Bandini Elementary - Heather Harris
Field Elementary - Amy Griffiths
Freese Elementary - Shannon Lewis
Jerabek Elementary - Kristie Joiner
Joyner Elementary Tim Suanico
Loma Portal Elementary - Rebecca Penh
Mason Elementary - Dawn Powell
Salk Elementary - Deidre Hardson

Vice Principal Appointments:
Hoover High - Jeremy Martin
Kearny High Stanley E. Foster School of Engineering, Innovation, and Design - James Michaelian
Mira Mesa High - Jeffrey Sabins
Lewis Middle - Michelle Vergne
Euclid Elementary - Jose Valdez
Fay Elementary - Decydered Piña

Central Office Management Appointments:
Area 6 Superintendent - Fabiola Bagula
Chief Public Information Officer - Ursula Kroemer
Interim Chief Innovation Officer - Dan Stoneman
Interim Chief Operations Officer - Drew Rowlands

Interim Principal Assignments for Principal Vacancies:
Serra High - Mary Castleberry
SCPA - Carol Whaley
Pacific Beach Middle - Tom Yount
Standley Middle - Pat Crowder
Carver Elementary - Linda Valladolid
Hancock Elementary - Mary Jo Longo
Hickman Elementary - Judy Fogel
Ross Elementary - Steve Gennaro

Included below are short biographies from some of our new appointees.

Mission Bay High - Ernest Remillard, previous Principal at Pacific Beach MS
Ernest was previously the principal at Pacific Beach Middle School. He has been employed by the district since 2004. He has worked as a high school and a middle school math teacher, IB magnet resource teacher at Roosevelt, vice principal for three years at Pacific Beach Middle and one year at DePortola Middle. He earned his teaching credential from Drexler University and his master’s degree from USD.

Bell Middle - Precious Hubbard-Jackson, previous VP, Bell MS
Precious was previously the Interim Principal at Bell Middle. She has been employed at Bell Middle from 2005 to present. She was a teacher at Lincoln High School and vice principal at Bell Middle. She has also served in a variety of positions such as English Department Chair, member of the Blueprint Task Force and AVID Coordinator, just to name a few. She received her bachelor’s degree from Howard University, multiple subject teaching credential, master’s degree and preliminary administrative credential from San Diego State University.

Balboa Elementary - Hector Bravo, previous Associate Principal at Livingston High School
Hector was previously the associate principal at Livingston High School in Merced Union High School District. He was employed at Livingston from 2005 to 2014. His previous experience includes Spanish adjunct professor, education adjunct professor, summer school principal and Spanish teacher. He earned his master’s in Educational Leadership at California State University Sacramento and his bachelor’s at California State University Stanislaus.

Cabrillo Elementary School - Irene Hightower
Irene was previously vice principal at Rosa Parks Elementary. She served as vice principal there for the past seven years. Prior to being at Rosa Parks, she was a vice principal at Doyle Elementary. She has been employed by the district since 1986. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from San Diego State University.

Emerson/Bandini Elementary School - Heather Harris
Heather was previously vice principal at Golden Hill Elementary. She has been employed by the district since 1999. She worked as a teacher at Edison and Hamilton elementary schools and as a vice principal at Golden Hill. She received her bachelor’s degree at California State University San Marcos, master’s degree at National University and her administrative credential at San Diego State University.

Field Elementary School - Amy Griffiths, previous VP, Lindbergh Schweitzer
Amy was previously vice principal at Lindbergh Schweitzer. She has been employed by the district since 1998. She has also worked as a bilingual teacher and resource teacher. She received her bachelor’s degree from University of San Diego and her BCLAD and master’s degree from National University. She also received her specialized certificate in gifted and talented education and preliminary administrative credential from University of San Diego.

Jerabek Elementary School - Kristie Joiner, previous VP, Santee School District
Kristie was previously vice principal with the Santee School District, working in that district since 2008. Prior to working at the Santee School District, she was employed by South Bay Union School District from 1998-2008. She received her bachelor’s, teaching credential, master’s and administrative credential from Point Loma Nazarene University.

Joyner Elementary School - Tim Suanico
Tim was previously the principal at Ross Elementary. He has been employed by the district for 26 years and has been at Ross Elementary since 2007. His employment with the district includes being a classroom teacher, resource teacher, principal and vice principal. He received his bachelor’s degree from University of California San Diego, teaching credential from San Diego State University, and master’s degree and educational specialist degree at Point Loma from Nazarene University.

Loma Portal Elementary - Rebecca Penh, previous Magnet Coordinator, Joyner Magnet School
Rebecca was previously a project resource teacher at Joyner Elementary. She has worked for the district since 2002. She received her bachelor’s and CLAD teaching credential from San Diego State University. She earned her master’s degree at National University and administrative credential at University of San Diego.

Mason Elementary - Dawn Powell, previous VP, Mason ES
Dawn was previously the vice principal at Mason Elementary and had held that position since 2008. She has been employed with the District since 1999. She received her bachelor’s degree from California State University San Marcos, teaching credential and master’s degree from National University and administrative credential from University of San Diego.

Salk Elementary - Deidre Hardson
Deidre was previously the principal at Mason Elementary. She had been employed at Mason from 2007 to 2014. Prior to being principal at Mason, Deidre served as principal at E.B. Scripps from 2004-2007. She has been employed by the district since 1984. She received her bachelor’s degree, teaching credential, administrative credential and master’s degree from San Diego State University.

Vice Principals

Hoover High – Jeremy Martin, former Physical Education teacher at San Diego High School of Business
Jeremy was previously a physical education teacher at San Diego High School of Business. He has been with our district since 2002 and at San Diego High since 2004. His previous experience includes finance coordinator, mentor program coordinator and attendance intervention specialist. He earned his master’s in Educational Leadership from University of Texas at Arlington and his bachelor’s in Health and Physical Education from the University of Delaware.

Mira Mesa High School - Jeffrey Sabins
Jeffrey was previously a teacher at Mira Mesa High. He has worked at Mira Mesa High since 2012, and has served as a classroom teacher, resource teacher and interim vice principal. He has been employed by the district since 2003. He received his bachelor’s degree from California Lutheran University, teaching credential at San Diego State University and administrative services credential from National University.

Lewis Middle School - Michelle Vergne
Michelle was previously an algebra teacher at De Portola Middle. Along with her experience as a math teacher, she has also served as dean of students from 2012-13 at De Portola Middle and interim vice principal at Pershing Middle. She received her bachelor’s degree from California State University San Marcos, master’s degree from National University and her administrative credential from San Diego State University.

Euclid Elementary - Jose Valdez
Jose was previously an IB coordinator/in-school resource teacher at Roosevelt International Baccalaureate Magnet School. He has been employed with the district since 2000. His appointment at Euclid Elementary will be his first job as a vice principal. He is a graduate of San Diego State University.

Fay Elementary - Decydered Pina
Decydered was previously an in-school resource teacher at the Office of Language Acquisition. She has been a district employee since 1997. Her appointment at Fay will be her first job as a vice principal. She received her bachelor’s degree from University of San Diego and her master’s degree from National University.

Area 6 Superintendent - Fabiola Bagula
Ms. Bagula is a product of our San Diego education system. As a San Diego native, and a current Ph.D. student at the University of San Diego, she is dedicated and committed to the San Diego community. For the last decade, she was on the administration team at Balboa Elementary. Under her tenure, the school made academic gains of over 100 API points. The Balboa team won the Intel Mathematics Award in 2007, making it the only school in California to receive this honor thus far. Before working in administration, she taught at Marshall and Jackson elementary schools in City Heights, where she was also a teaching coach. Ms. Bagula has a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of San Diego. Read more.

Chief Public Information Officer - Ursula Kroemer
Ms. Kroemer worked at San Diego Unified from 1997 to 2008 serving in various capacities in the Communications Office. Most recently, Ursula served as the Program Manager for the San Diego Community College District’s $1.56 billion construction bond program. She also served as Communications Director for the program overseeing media and community relations, activities related to the Citizens’ Oversight Committee, and the program’s small business outreach program.

San Diego Unified Welcomes You to the 2014-15 School Year

The new school year is full of anticipation and excitement. New classes, new faces and the possibilities seem endless for the year ahead.

Parents can help prepare their students to return to the classroom, says Superintendent Cindy Marten, by emphasizing the importance of school.

“Build up the excitement about school and talk about what it means to be a lifelong learner,” Marten says.

Next is proper preparation. To get back in the groove of school, the US Department of Education suggests establishing healthy at-home routines for school days, such as consistent waking times and getting-ready patterns. Decide on a regular homework time, and create a comfortable, quiet work space. Set bedtimes that allow elementary-age kids to get 10 to 12 hours of sleep and teens to get 8½ to 9½ hours.

It’s also important to make sure kids have breakfast and lunch to fuel their growing minds. To ensure that all students receive a healthy breakfast and lunch, district programs such as “Breakfast in the Classroom” and “Free and Reduced Lunch” are available to income-eligible families. More information can be found on the district’s Food Services Department page.

When it comes to learning, students who miss school….miss out. They miss out on opportunities to learn, build lasting friendships, and develop the skills and attitudes needed to become good citizens and valued employees. There is a very strong connection between student attendance and student performance in school. Higher attendance equals higher achievement for all students. You can learn more at the Attendance Matters web page.

As instruction gets under way, there will be many opportunities to visit your child’s school to meet the principal and their teachers, and learn about opportunities to get involved. Research shows that students are more likely to be successful when they have parents that are involved. Check with your school to find out when “Back to School Night” is scheduled and if they host other events like “Coffee with the Principal” and mark your calendar. Our PTA partners have some great tips for how parents can be involved  on their website.

Attending these events will also help you get familiar with the curriculum your child will be taught. This year will be the first full year of the Common Core State Standards implementation. Teachers and principals can answer school-site and grade-level specific questions while general resources can be found on the district’s website at www.sandi.net/commoncore.

We continue to work hard on our Vision 2020 to ensure a quality school in every neighborhood, with academic, social and physical environments worthy of your child. This means greater attention than ever on creating broader measures of student achievement, and engaging parents and community volunteers in the educational process. Learn more at http://www.sandi.net/vision2020.

Rest assured that there are many exciting things happening at your child’s school. Be a part of it. Get involved. Help your child make this year one of the most memorable.

State Schools Chief offers his top 10 tips to support student learning

San Diego Unified School District starts classes Sept. 2. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson offers his top 10 tips to support student learning.

"This is going to be an exciting year of new challenges, not only for students but also schools, as we enter a new era of teaching and learning, assessments, and the way we fund schools," Torlakson said. "Our future depends on the next generation of students to lead California. To help support them so they will be prepared for college and careers, I am offering my top 10 tips."

Superintendent Torlakson's Top 10 Tips

1. Students should not only know their ABCs, but everyone should also know about the CCSS (Common Core State Standards), which is remodeling California's education system so every child will learn real-world skills that will prepare them for college and careers.
2. Hungry children don't learn. So make sure they eat a hearty breakfast before school and a nutritious lunch at school. Or take advantage of California's many nutrition programs that provide healthy meals and snacks to children.
3. When children are sick at home or partake in risky behavior, they can't learn. Find out how the state is helping children stay healthy, and avoid alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and other dangerous activities.
4. Eating nutritious food, being physically active, and well-hydrated, all help children succeed in school. Join Torlakson's Team California for Healthy Kids initiative to find out what you can do to help keep your kids healthy and active every day.
5. Busy parents can help their children take advantage of expanded learning opportunities outside of regular school hours, by signing them up for before and after school programs.
6. Having a stable home and dependable support system will help children feel better about themselves and will help them learn in school. Find out about services for foster youth, immigrant students, homeless children, and support for children in military families.
7. A safe school environment is more conducive to helping students learn. Find out how the state provides guidelines to administrators on providing safe schools environments for children.
8. Students speak more than a 100 languages in the California's public school system. Learn more about services to help students learn English and how the state helps schools get the word out about important notices through its Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents.
9. Chronic absences, even among kindergarteners, is an early indicator of students dropping out of school. Learn more about how the state helps prevent dropouts and how School Attendance Review Boards help keep kids in school and learning.
10. When parents are more involved in their children's education, students perform better in school. Volunteer to help your local school and teachers. Or consider donating school supplies to teachers who often use their own money to buy paper and pencils for their students to use in their classrooms.

District's JROTC, San Diego State partner for STEM camp

The San Diego Unified School District JROTC Program and the College of Engineering at San Diego State University (SDSU) partnered for the fourth consecutive year to offer 56 cadets the opportunity to attend the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Camp this past summer. The program was a fully-funded, five day immersive experience on the SDSU campus July 29-Aug. 2.

While living on campus and attending classes, students were introduced to the rigors of engineering, bio-medical sciences, robotics, and bio-technology. They conducted hands-on activities such as building and programming robots, dissecting fetal pigs, designing and testing bridges, and practicing modern day forensic techniques.

On the final day, cadets took part in project presentations and a graduation ceremony. The cadets were able to share their projects and new knowledge with friends and family. Generous benefactors donated various electronics that were given to randomly selected cadets, and all cadets received certificates of completion.

STEM Camp was made possible with the support of Dr. Bruce Westermo, Associate Dean in the College of Engineering at SDSU, and LTC David Guzman, the San Diego Unified JROTC Program Manager.

For more information about JROTC, please contact LTC Guzman at  dguzman1@sandi.net.

Jones Elementary students raise money, produce toiletry bags for homeless

When “I Was Homeless” authors shared the story of homeless child Kevin Liu, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Jones Elementary were moved. Moved to raise money to buy toiletries for those in need.

The students gathered funds and sought donations from local retailers and businesses, which enabled them to produce more than 400 toiletry bags with travel size items, including toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, tissue, protein bar, hand sanitizer, hand lotion and bottled water.

Students shopped for the items at Vons and Costco, then assembled the bags with the help of staff, parents and community partners. Vons donated $225 to the school while local dentists donated toothbrushes and toothpaste.

“We could not have done this without the support of our Jones School families on our Fundraising Fridays,” said Principal Rita Powell.

Pastor Louie from the Serra Mesa Community Church, one of the school’s partners, and his wife, Ms. Yvonne, helped to distribute the bags to those in need.

The exercise not only taught the students about math and money while shopping, but about providing service and giving back to those less fortunate.

For more information on the school’s efforts, contact Principal Powell at 858-496-8140.