IN THE NEWS: Parent use of school technology underscores digital divide - SignOnSanDiego.com

As schools increase their use of technology, so too have parents in the pursuit of nudging their children toward graduation, college and adulthood. Parents at 55 campuses in the San Diego school district can peruse their children’s homework assignments, check grades and measure their progress meeting college admission requirements — from their personal computers. Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune»

Ericson Coin Drive Helps Japan Relief Effort

The Student Council at Ericson Elementary was moved to take action by the tragic events that took place in Japan and decided to hold a four-day coin drive to support the victims. Students created posters to raise awareness while the school charted classroom donations to reflect the amount money being raised.
Some students donated their entire piggy bank of coins. By the end of the coin drive, Ericson Elementary had raised a total of $2,571.43. The Student Council is now working on donating the money to help provide disaster relief and support for communities that were ravaged by the disaster.
For more information, contact Vice Principal Armando Tovar at atovarjr@sandi.net or (619) 379-9976.

JROTC Cadets Visit Valley Forge, Philadelphia, Washington DC

JROTC cadets from various district high schools recently returned from the Freedoms Foundation Valley Forge/Washington D.C. Leadership Conference with a greater sense of awareness and appreciation of the principles and responsibilities of a free and democratic society. The educational trip, sponsored and fully-funded by the Military Order of World Wars (MOWW) included a stay at the Freedoms Foundation's 85-acre campus in historic Valley Forge, PA and culminated with a visit to Washington DC.




The trip started at the Freedoms Foundation Conference where students discussed Leadership, American Government and History. During the conference students were assessed and recognized for their leadership qualities, participation and subject knowledge. The quality of our San Diego Unified students was truly demonstrated as they were awarded the top honors in three of the five Leadership Award categories.



The cadets completed their time in Pennsylvania with a trip to Philadelphia where they visited Independence Hall to see where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were signed.



JROTC in DCIn Washington D.C., the cadets toured Mt. Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, the Air and Space Museum and the National Archives where they saw the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Highlights of the trip included a tour of the Pentagon and chat with Vice Chief and SGM of the Army; a personal tour of the Capitol by Congressman Brian Bilbray’s staff that included the House Chamber; and breakfast with Senator Dianne Feinstein.



This year's Valley Forge attendees were: Samantha Nguyen, Mira Mesa HS; Jennifer Tu Doan,Patrick Henry HS; Christopher Reyes and Darius Pinckney, Mission Bay HS; Bryan Salinas and Jenny Chan, Scripps Ranch HS, Joanna Ibay, Morse HS; and Thang Hin, Madison HS.



For more information, contact LTC David Guzman, Program Manager JROTC/Military Sciences, at (858) 496-8203 or dguzman1@sandi.net.

IN THE NEWS: Who’s Best Suited to Teach and Learn in Virtual Schools?

Online learning is not easy, says Maureen Cottrell, a science teacher at iHigh Virtual Academy, a fully-accredited virtual public high school in San Diego, California. “Many students fully expect it to be easy and then bomb out.”


Cottrell, who’s been teaching for a decade, has spent the last two years at iHigh, the first completely online, diploma-granting school in the San Diego Unified School District.

“Sure, everyone wants to cut costs,” she says. “Virtual learning is seen as a tool for that. But I don’t think any educator just wants to cut costs” at the expense of quality. “One of the things we address from the ground up is keeping rigor in place.” Getting WASC accreditation and recognition from the University of California Doorways system was a rigorous process. “We fought a hard battle. We don’t want to lose that! We want to keep the rigor high.”

Read complete story from KQED>>

Trash or Treasure?

Pacific Beach Middle School's IB Ecology Club organized a number of activities between Global Service Day and Earth Day to inspire their fellow students to take care of the earth. From analyzing lunch-time trash to harvesting and eating food straight from the school's garden, everyone at the school took action. The end result? Students signed a huge 50-foot pledge to reduce, reuse, refuse, and recycle our natural resources.




During one activity, the entire campus placed their lunch-time trash on a huge tarp. “It was so gross that I felt sick to my stomach,” exclaimed Kathryn Johnson, an active member of the newly formed Ecology Club. The purpose was to expose the students to how much trash is generated in one lunch period at the school.



“We had a huge crowd as students ran to contribute their trash and left-over food. You could see it on their faces as their excitement quickly turned to disgust then to concern,” said Leslie Chadwick, Science teacher and co-advisor to the Eco-Club.



After gathering the trash, student volunteers from Science and Design Technology classes donned rubber gloves to start investigating and sorting the trash into piles: compost, recyclables and trash.



PB MS HarvestTo top off Earth Week, the school harvested our PB Middle Waves of Green Student Garden. Students picked enough lettuce, peas, broccoli and beets to make salads for everyone to sample our fresh, organic “bounty at the beach.” The Ecology club has also started composting to keep the garden growing and have started a recycling program.



For more information, contact Jennifer Sims at jsims@sandi.net.

Crawford MVAS Students Produce Video for Farm to School Program

Interns from Crawford Media and Visual Arts School (MVAS) and Farm to School Specialist Vanessa Zajfen recently went on location to shoot footage for the district’s new Farm to School video. Filmed on location at Suzie’s Farm (right) in Imperial Beach and in the Crawford cafeteria, the video tracks the journey of certified organic broccoli as it went from farm to school as the district's March Harvest of the Month. More than 7,000 pounds of broccoli were harvested, prepared and served to students in cafeterias across the district in March.




The interns interviewed farmers, farm crews and kitchen staff as well as field tested the produce as it was harvested. International Rescue Committee (IRC) members oversee the Crawford student-run school garden and provided transportation to the farm.



Farm to SchoolWhen finished, the video will be available on the district’s website. For more information,contact Vanessa Zajfen at vzajfen@sandi.net.

National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 1-7

San Diego Unified joins districts across the nation in celebrating National Teacher Appreciation week, May 1-7, and National Teacher Day on May 3. The week helps draw attention to the important role teachers play in making sure every child receives a quality public education. While it takes a lot of people to make a school successful, National Teacher Day recognizes the special contributions that teachers make to ensure that schools are great places for students to succeed in life.

At a time of monumental cuts to public education funding, it's more important than ever to take the opportunity to honor our more than 6,700 teachers and thank them for the lasting contributions they make to our lives and the lives of our children. THANK YOU for your dedication!

This year, consider thanking a teacher by contacting your state legislators to express your concerns about further cuts to public education. Visit www.stateofemergency.com for more information.