On Oct. 29, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency announced it had received an additional unexpected shipment of 78,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine. About 10,000 of those doses were distributed directly to the County’s Public Health Centers. The remaining doses will be distributed to primary care providers (including pediatricians, obstetricians, and family providers), ambulatory and community clinics, and school districts throughout the county. These doses will serve the most vulnerable population groups which include pregnant females, individuals 6 months to 24 years of age, individuals who come in contact with infants under 6 months, individuals 24-64 years old with chronic health problems, and health care and emergency medical services workers.
San Diego Unified continues to work closely with County Public Health Services to organize vaccination clinics at some of our schools pending a signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) by the County of San Diego. A limited number of our schools will have clinics. Parents will be notified if and when their school site will host a clinic and should not contact the school or district offices for that information. Receiving the H1N1 vaccine is voluntary and parent permission will be required.
PLEASE NOTE: It’s important for parents to contact their private health care provider or a county community clinic as the preferred means to receive the H1N1 vaccine for their children or other eligible family members. Locations of County vaccination sites can be found at www.sdiz.org or by calling 2-1-1.
Visit the district H1N1 website to review the latest information.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Henry Navy JROTC Cadets Tour Nation’s Capitol
Washington, D.C. welcomed 73 cadets from the Patrick Henry Navy JROTC last week, in town for 24 hours on a whirlwind tour. In addition to visiting the monuments, Capitol and other American landmarks, they also met with Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-San Diego). On the way back, the Patriot Battalion hitched a ride on a Navy C-40 transport plane, four students were able to ride in the cockpit and observe takeoff and landing. For more information, contact Mark Vizcarra at (619) 286-7700.
For more district news, subscribe to the Superintendent's Friday Notes.
For more district news, subscribe to the Superintendent's Friday Notes.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Crawford IDEA's Green Lawnmower Eyed at Growing Green Careers Symposium
Crawford IDEA students Danny Ngo and Pride McGinnis presented the auto shop's propane-fueled riding lawnmower at the Growing Green Careers Symposium, a recent confab at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon. The mower, which was converted from gasoline to propane by students at IDEA, is the first collaboration between students and district staff to reduce our carbon footprint. In addition to the students, teachers Carl Kingsbury, Mena Abdo and Jon Karanopoulos presented on topics ranging from biofuels, propane technologies and the new Green Technology and Energy program at Scripps Ranch and Sci-Tech high schools. Contact Greg Quirin at (858) 503-1736 or gquirin@sandi.net.
For more district news, subscribe to the Superintendent's Friday Notes.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Chalk One Up for De Portola, Paint the Way for MVAS
Students from De Portola Middle School and Crawford MVAS participated in the Oct. 11 Little Italy Street Painting Festival (photo at right). Eighth graders Chris Gonzalez and Jennifer Tachiquin, from Mrs. Pearson's art class at De Portola in Tierrasanta, recreated Da Vinci's "Lady With Ermine" in chalk on the sidewalk during the Oct. 11, 2009 Gesso Italiano in San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood. The pair teamed up, with Jennifer working on the arm and body, while Chris worked on the face. Mrs. Pearson helped a bit as well. Jennifer and Chris were the only middle school students participating in the competition, which shows the amazing talent at De Portola. For more information, contact principal Elizabeth Gillingham at (858) 496-8080. Crawford MVAS students also participated; contact principal Diego Gutierrez at dgutierrez@sandi.net for details.
For more district news, subscribe to the Superintendent's Friday Notes.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Montgomery Middle Gets Dutch Treat
Mayors from 15 cities in the Netherlands visited Montgomery Middle School on Oct. 14 to learn about the Safe Passage Program, which works to reduce the number of students threatened by gangs while going to- or from-school. Principal Jonathan Ton says it was a great honor to host the Dutch dignitaries, who not only learned about what goes on at Montgomery, but shared some of their best practices. The innovative program works with the City of San Diego Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention and concentrates on students in areas such as bus stops and city sidewalks. For more information, contact principal Ton at jton@sandi.net, or Lynn Sharpe-Underwood, San Diego Commission on Gangs director, at lsharpeunderwood@sandiego.gov.
For more district news, subscribe to the Superintendent's Friday Notes.
For more district news, subscribe to the Superintendent's Friday Notes.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Congressional Page Position Available
Our local Congresswoman, Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego), is looking for nominees for the Congressional Page program. Pages help Members on the floor of the House of Representatives and distribute information around the Capitol complex. Only 72 students are chosen from around the country and must be high school juniors, at least 16 and have a GPA of at least 3.0. For more information, see Rep. Davis's web site. Our district's assistant general counsel, Patrick Frost, was a Congressional Page in 1987 and served the committee holding the Iran-Contra Hearings. Call Patrick at (619) 725-5630 or pfrost@sandi.net if you'd like to hear his experiences.
For more district news, subscribe to the Superintendent's Friday Notes.
For more district news, subscribe to the Superintendent's Friday Notes.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Superintendent’s Message: Budgeting Begins for 2010-11
Our school year has just begun and so has the planning for next year. The Board of Education had an excellent session on Tuesday, Oct. 20 to discuss the prospects of another very difficult budget year, 2010-11. The next Board Budget Workshop is scheduled for November 20.
The district has cut $180 million from our budget in the last two years but thanks to federal stimulus dollars, early retirements and streamlining our organization, for the most part, our classrooms were protected. For the 2010-11 budget year, the district is facing a budget deficit of approximately $80 to $100 million even before new cuts that are expected from the state. That means the Board of Education will once again be facing extremely difficult choices to balance next year’s budget.
The State of California is continuing to face the impacts of a deep economic recession and tax revenues coming in far below estimates for the current budget year. Current projections show that the state may be facing another $8-16 billion deficit, which will mean even more severe cuts for public education. We won’t know the state’s projected budget until January, but San Diego Unified could face an additional $100 million or more in cuts for the next budget year on top of our current projected deficit of nearly $100 million!
In the face of this bleak budget outlook, as Interim Superintendent, I share the strong commitment of the Board of Education to keep budget reductions as far from the classroom as possible. During the coming weeks, our staff will be conducting a complete review our operations and programs to identify a full range of budget reduction alternatives for the Board. The Board will also be considering a targeted freeze on hiring and expenses to help us save as many dollars as possible in the current budget year.
We encourage the public to stay informed about the education budget crisis and to share your concerns. We are launching a community outreach program to give our school communities and the public access to current budget information and provide opportunities for input. This program will include a series of Town Hall meetings during November and December. We also encourage the public to visit our new Budget Crisis website to get the latest information and to share ideas and comments on our Budget Blog.
During this difficult period for public education, I want to assure our parents, our staff and the public that we will remain focused on our primary goal, providing quality education for every student on every school day.
The district has cut $180 million from our budget in the last two years but thanks to federal stimulus dollars, early retirements and streamlining our organization, for the most part, our classrooms were protected. For the 2010-11 budget year, the district is facing a budget deficit of approximately $80 to $100 million even before new cuts that are expected from the state. That means the Board of Education will once again be facing extremely difficult choices to balance next year’s budget.
The State of California is continuing to face the impacts of a deep economic recession and tax revenues coming in far below estimates for the current budget year. Current projections show that the state may be facing another $8-16 billion deficit, which will mean even more severe cuts for public education. We won’t know the state’s projected budget until January, but San Diego Unified could face an additional $100 million or more in cuts for the next budget year on top of our current projected deficit of nearly $100 million!
In the face of this bleak budget outlook, as Interim Superintendent, I share the strong commitment of the Board of Education to keep budget reductions as far from the classroom as possible. During the coming weeks, our staff will be conducting a complete review our operations and programs to identify a full range of budget reduction alternatives for the Board. The Board will also be considering a targeted freeze on hiring and expenses to help us save as many dollars as possible in the current budget year.
We encourage the public to stay informed about the education budget crisis and to share your concerns. We are launching a community outreach program to give our school communities and the public access to current budget information and provide opportunities for input. This program will include a series of Town Hall meetings during November and December. We also encourage the public to visit our new Budget Crisis website to get the latest information and to share ideas and comments on our Budget Blog.
During this difficult period for public education, I want to assure our parents, our staff and the public that we will remain focused on our primary goal, providing quality education for every student on every school day.
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