Soledad Unified School District Weekly Newsletter Board of Trustees

Jodi Massa President

Josie Perez-Aguilera Vice-President

Marie Berlanga Clerk

Jaime Fernandez Trustee

2016/2017 Theme: Discover What's Possible

Javier Galvan Trustee

MARCH 10, 2 017

SUSD Bright Spots STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

Rafael Barrera, from Main Street, his entire family & Mr. Battin.

From Soledad High School, Christopher Mandujano, family, and

Adult Education Program; Alicia Real (middle) Mr. Lopez and Mr. Garcia

Mr. Walker

Employees of the Month for Soledad High School

Community/Parent Stakeholder Meeting There will be a second opportunity for parents and community to give input on the characteristics for our new superintendent. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 7 p.m. at Soledad High School in the Multi. Or staff, parents, and community can also go online at English Version: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Soledadusd

Certificated Employee of the Month: Sean Ponzi an accompanying him Ms. Darcie Lopez and Mr. Nathan Walker

Classified Employee of the Month: Manuela Jimenez, and Mr. walker

For up to date information follow us on twitter and like us on Facebook

Spanish Version https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ Soledadusdspanish

Educational Services Team LCAP Goal 2: CDLT with Principals

LCAP Goal 2: Fisher & Frey Training On March 7, the elementary school teams attended the Fisher & Frey training at Rose Ferrero. We visited about 25 classrooms and gave feedback regarding "Glows" and "Grows." The main topic of the day was about Independent Learning. Then on March 8, the secondary school teams attended the Fisher & Frey training at Main Street Middle School from 8:00-3:00. We visited about 15 classrooms and they were also trained on Independent Learning. Connie stayed after the training and presented at the Main Street staff meeting. _______________________________________ LCAP Goal 4: Parent Conferences at the Elementary Schools The elementary schools will hold their Parent Conferences the week of March 13- March 17. The students are released at 1:00 and teachers then hold the conferences each day with the parents. Each school has set aside one late night so that working parents can attend.

The Principals met & discussed the following items: • The New California Science Test (CAST) • The New Dashboard that will be used for the indicators on the LCAP. • Planned the LCAP Stakeholder Meetings • Enrollment for next year • Upcoming Events • The April Fisher & Frey Training • Ideas for Writing _________________________________________ LCAP Goal 2 & 4: Coder Dojo Classes on Saturdays Harnell is providing coding classes for our students at Rose Ferrero on Saturdays from March 4- April 8. The District Leadership team is taking turns in overseeing the program so that the program is successful for our students. _________________________________________ County offering PBIS Showcase on May 15 MCOE is in the process of setting up a PBIS showcase on May 15. Every district that has implemented PBIS will have 2-3 schools participate. They also will be rewarding schools that have done well with implementation. There will be more information to come.

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Special Projects Coming Up:

New Legislations

• March 6th - April 14th Field Testing ELPAC at Gabilan, San Vicente, Frank Ledesma, Soledad High School • March 21 - DELAC (District English Language Advisory Committee) 6:00 p.m. Jack Franscioni School LibraryAdvisory Committee) 6:00 p.m. Jack Franscioni School Library • CABE Conference: Tuesday, March 28 - Friday, March 31

(LCAP Goal 2)

Several new laws have passed over the last 5 years granting homeless students and foster students additional rights and ser vices necessary to be successful in school and continued education. There are several resources within our county, state, as well as, online for families and school personnel.

English 3D (LCAP Goal 6)

Our English 3D coach has already been out to many sites to meet and greet our English 3D teachers. Marcia Lowell will be our designated coach for the remainder of the year. She is here to assist with questions, instructional routines teachers need assistance with, as well as, clarify program components.

For more information regarding the MCKinney- Vento Act (homeless students rights) visit:

Teachers can use this opportunity to learn more about English 3D. Marcia will be out to visit 2-3 more times this year, once a month for the remainder of the year. We look for ward to this coaching opportunity!

For more information regarding foster youth laws visit:

Erin Ramirez Special Projects Coordinator [email protected] !3

• http://www.nationalhomeless.org/ publications/facts/McKinney.pdf • https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/ pg116.html

• http://www.cfyetf.org/ • http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/pf/fy/resources.asp

Human Capital SPECIAL EDUCATION

Components of Assessments?

Emotional Disturbance Eligibility

*A review of records

*An inability to learn that cannot be

*All relevant health information

explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors

*Input from parent

*A g eneral per vasive mood of

*Input from teachers

unhappiness or depression

*Observations *Formal/Informal assessments

*Fears or physical symptoms associated with personal or school problems

DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS Ana Yescas, is an Instructional Aide at Soledad High School. Ana is an experienced practitioner

at assisting

students with special needs so that they meet graduation requirements to receive a diploma and graduate high school. Ana is dedicated and always approaches students in a calm and caring way. Thank you Ana for all you do for our high school students!

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Business Department

A Brighter Future In a 2014 report prepared for the US Department of Energy, The Solar Foundation, TSF, stated that "While thousands of schools have already realized the cost savings and other benefits of installed solar energy capacity, this opportunity is generally underutilized," however, in the case of the Soledad Unified School District, thanks to a zero-interest loan from the California Energy and Commission, we are the first south county K-12 education agency to have completed its own solar photovoltaic power plan at Soledad High School. This is a tremendous accomplishment for our District because the projected lifetime energy savings (20 year period) is about $4.1 million; savings that can be used in the classroom and provide our students with more resources. Thanks to OpTerra Energy, the District's contractor, our District joins other institutions like the Salinas City Elementary School who are expected to reduce electric utility cost by 90% by installing similar solar power plants across 14 of their school sites, and Hartnell College whose project lifetime solar energy savings of $9.5 million throughout its main campus. In their research, The Solar Foundation found that: 1. An analysis performed for this report found that 450 individual school districts could each save more than $1,000,000 over 30 years by installing a solar PV system. 2. There are 3,752 K-12 schools in the United States with solar installations, meaning nearly 2.7 million students attend schools with solar energy systems. 3. The electricity generated in one year by all 3,727 PV systems represents a combined $77.8 million per year in utility bills ‒ an average of almost $21,000 per year per school. This combined energy value is roughly equivalent to 155,000 tablet computers or nearly 2,200 new teachers’ salaries per year. Investing in solar energy is not only smart but very resourceful because it provides a long-term hedge against increases in utility rates and can provide a number of educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. But most importantly, solar energy helps us keep our environment clean and pollutants free. For more information on this report or The Solar Foundation, please visit, http://www.seia.org/ research-resources/brighter-future-study-solar-us-schools-report

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Human Resources Vacancy Job Announcements: Click on the link below https://www.edjoin.org/Home/Jobs? countyID=27&districtID=465

WELLNESS ROCKS: HEALTH FAIR All MEMBERS WELCOME! When: Thursday, March 30th 3:00 pm- 6:00 pm MCOE: 901 Blanco Circle, Salinas

Attention CVT MEMBERS don't forget to activate your MDLIVE account With MDLIVE you can access a doctor from work, home, or on the go- 24/7/365.

Attention All CalPERS Anthem Blue Cross Benefit Members Save the Date: Wednesday, March 29th at 2:15 pm Where: Soledad High Multi-Purpose Room MCSIG will be presenting valuable information regarding their benefits and answer questions Credentials: Please be sure to log onto ctc.ca.gov to check the status of your credential and note its renewal date. If you need assistance, do not hesitate to contact Lupe Munguia at [email protected]

Julia Turner - New Teacher Support & Development Coordinator

Focus on Process, Not Just Content* Third-grade students in Mrs. Galvez’s class (FL) manipulated mentally and orally the concept of fractions through a kinesthetic mode: tracing, coloring, cutting. While during these three, students decided the sections of the wheel that they opted ~ student choice ~ to color to represent a fraction. After coloring their chosen portions of the wheel, students named their fraction. As students worked, I chatted with a couple students asking them what they were learning but also how this task helps them learn. Each shared that this task helped them understand fractions better because they could see it. In addition, each explained their thinking processes as they determined the name of the fraction. I questioned, “Where might you see this picture outside of school?” Without hesitation, “with a pizza,” they responded. To close the lesson, the teacher invited a student to the ELMO to display and explain one of his fraction wheels - self-selected - (choice again). Identifying the fraction, he explained his process for determining the numerator and denominator from the shaded and un-shaded parts of the wheel. (In the picture, he points to the shaded portion of his 1/2 fraction.) *from Five Things Every Teacher Should be Doing to Meet Common Core Standards LCAP #2 –SUSD will provide a high quality and comprehensive instructional program. Unlocking the Future Today

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Technology

Tech Committee Professional Development: HMH Training on March 3rd LCAP Goal 2 Last Friday members of our district's Technology Committee attended a training by HMH on EL resources using Journeys and Collections on their myHRW and Think Central websites. Our goal is for all of our teachers to use these systems to their full potential as these adoptions were a big investment for our district's academic goals. This training definitely helped give our Tech Committee more knowledge however to take full advantage of the systems, we will bring HMH back for continued professional development trainings. The training gave our Tech Committee valuable tips and they learned features as well that weren't being used before. The topics we were able to cover are listed below. Please refer to your site's Tech Committee Members for further help regarding the topics below. Topics covered include: -How to adjust mySmart Planner -How to assign assignments to students -eBook reader -Resources -Instructional Planners -Exam View -Adding notes to student ebooks -Features of HMH player If you continue to have issues or need further assistance, please let us know so we can refer you to someone who can help you.

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MAINTENANCE, OPERATIONS, TRANSPORTATION, & FACILITIES

TRANSPORTATION NEWS

Weekly FMOT Activity Report The FMOT Director met with only a few school site principals this week due to a death in the family. Thank you for the many heartfelt condolences. The Board approved the Schooldude Facility Request program this week. Over the next few weeks the new program will roll out to the district. This new online program will streamline the facility request process.

School buses were originally known as kid hacks, which were typically repurposed farm wagons with a rear mounted entrance in order to not scare the horses. Wayne Works, later known as Wayne Corporation, started producing its first school wagons in Indiana in 1886. This is an image of the oldest known surving school bus in the United States. It is based on a 1927 Ford Model T Chasis.

The Frank Ledesma school alarm system will be replaced soon. The vendor is working on a schedule to replace the system to include a web-based access to the FMOT department remote access and historical incident reporting. Six FMOT staff are preparing for the carnival set up next week. Grounds staff are working on the interior landscape and memorial garden areas.

Main Street Construction Update The District has experienced an increase in their housing needs for the upcoming 2017 – 2018 school year. The Board approved retaiining 10 classrooms of the existing campus and adding 2 boys and girls restrooms in order to accommodate for the current enrollment and future MSMS housing needs.

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Ms. Aidee Aldaco District Wide Intervention

Community

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