The Superintendent’s Update February 25, 2014 NEWS FROM KELLY February Superintendent Award Winners: Congratulations to Beth Burton and Mike Weissenborn for being recognized with the Superintendent’s Award at the February 19, 2014, CUSD Board of Education meeting. Beth Burton, PVHS teacher extraordinaire, was honored with the Superintendent's Certificated Staff Member Award for her work with both the AVID program and the Academic Decathlon team, which recently won the regional competition for the tenth year in a row. In addition, Ms. Burton is a track coach…and the reigning Scottish Athletics Women's World Champion – famous for her “caber toss”. Her skills are most impressive (Amazing Beth Burton's Perfect Caber Toss - YouTube). Not to be outdone, Mike Weissenborn, the Director of Facilities and Construction, was awarded the Superintendent’s Classified Staff Member Award. Mr. Weissenborn, who recently announced his retirement, has been with CUSD for 22 years. In that time he has built many new facilities including Emma Wilson, Forest Ranch, Little Chico Creek, Marsh Junior High, the Performing Arts Center and the new multi-story classroom buildings at PVHS, and the new classroom buildings, Lincoln Hall and Fitness Lab at Chico High - to name just a few. In addition, Mr. Weissenborn has brought $98 million dollars to CUSD in matching funds for facilities. The Board President shared that she will accept his retirement letter when he reaches $100 million… Congratulations to both of these OUTSTANDING CUSD staff members! Arts For All 4th Annual Performing and Fine Arts Gala: The 4th Annual Arts for All Gala was held on February 12 at the Center for the Arts. Upon entering the Center for the Arts, guests were treated to a wide variety of student fine art exhibits in the gallery. Thank you to our fabulous Fine Arts teachers for their encouragement of the students who exhibited their work. The guests were then entertained by musical, dance and dramatic performances from Chico High, Pleasant Valley High, Inspire School of Arts and Sciences, and the Parkview Elementary Band. Thank you and congratulations to the students as well as the teachers who prepared them for this wonderful evening celebration of art! Thank you also to the non-profit, volunteer Arts For All committee that not only sponsors this wonderful event, but also raises money for grants for work in the Arts. Kudos! Anti-Bullying Day, February 26, 2014: As educators and humans, we work year round to stop bullying. February 26 is a day dedicated to those anti-bullying efforts we make every day. To show your support, please wear pink on February 26, 2014 and share the anti-bully message! Scott The Superintendent’s Update - Page 2 of 13 Lindstrom and his staff have activities planned at all of our elementary schools. Thank you all for your ongoing efforts in this very important area! NEWS FROM OUR COMMUNITY CUSD Featured at Democratic Action Club of Chico (DAC): David McKay, principal at Fair View High School, and Pedro Caldera, principal at Chico Junior High School, represented Chico Unified at a recent meeting of the Democratic Action Club of Chico (DAC). Mr. McKay and Mr. Caldera participated at the request of community leader Willie Hyman. They shared CUSD suspension/expulsion data and provided descriptions and explanations of the many programs in CUSD, including both prevention strategies and intervention tactics. The passion both of these educators showed for the physical, mental and emotional well-being of every student in Chico Unified energized the audience (and even included a suggestion that Mr. McKay and Mr. Caldera take their message on the road to show others what has worked so well in Chico). Thank you Mr. McKay and Mr. Caldera. New Fundraiser for the Chico High School Softball Program. CHS is holding an E-Waste Fundraiser Sunday, April 6, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Money will be received for every pound brought in of broken or old electronics. It is free for all residents and businesses that want to bring old or no longer wanted electronics to the front of Chico High School during those four hours. Thank you for the proper disposal of e-waste and for your support of CHS Softball! Academic Decathlon: Pleasant Valley High School completely dominated the Academic Bowl. Their team won by a couple thousand points and Michael Simic won the overall title by edging out two other Pleasant Valley students in a close race. Following is a nice video of the day….. http://video214.com/play/5u4MMvWBnA42sn0GjVlUsg/s/dark ~ Tim Taylor, Superintendent, Butte County Office of Education Annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser for the Hungry and Homeless on March 13, 2014: Please see the flyer at the end of this update for information. California State University, Chico hosts many visiting international scholars from around the world. These scholars engage in the activities of the campus community, sharing their international and cultural experiences and perspectives, and providing rich learning opportunities for students, staff, faculty, and community members. Seventeen Teachers from fifteen different countries attended the CUSD Board Meeting on February 19, 2014. Chico Animal Shelter takes on 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge: Community Support Needed for Chance to Win $100,000 Grand Prize and Save More Lives. Please see the Press Release at the end of this update for information. SPOTLIGHT ON OUR STAFF Congratulations: The CUSD Board approved the hiring of Julie Kistle as the next Director of Facilities and Construction. Julie will work with Mike Weissenborn, who is retiring effective April 3 as our current Director of Facilities and Construction. Mike will be using some vacation days, which will make his last The Superintendent’s Update - Page 3 of 13 work day in the middle of March. Julie has worked at CUSD as a Construction Manager and has been integral in the construction of the Center For the Arts, the new Pleasant Valley High classroom building, the new Lincoln Center at Chico High, and the Facilities Master Plan development. We are excited to have Julie’s experience, positive personality, and collaborative perspective leading our Facilities department into the future. Please join me in congratulating Julie on her new position. Golden Apple Leadership Awards: Congratulations to Rhonda Kaufmann and David Koll! Rhonda, Classified Human Resources Assistant, and David, Director of Classified, were voted by their CUMA colleagues to receive the February Golden Apple Award. Congratulations to both outstanding employees and thank you to Jack and Blake Danielson of Golden Apple Insurance for their continued support and recognition of CUSD staff and students. Teachers Are Heroes: Congratulations to Regina Schmidt, Special Ed. Teacher at Parkview Elementary who was honored on "Teachers are Heroes" by Action News. Principal JoAnn Bettencourt stated this is a well-deserved recognition and she is so grateful that Regina is a member of her teaching staff and thanks her for her dedication to students and the teaching profession. http://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/wakeup/story/Teachers-Are-Heroes/tDIKm341uk6TijTCWhfpwQ.cspx NEWS FROM EDUCATIONAL SERVICES Assessments: Many thanks from David Scott, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services to Ms. Serrato and Ms. Payne for facilitating my observation of Ms. Serrato’s second grade class during the administration of the District ELA assessment today. My observations are as follows: 18 of the 19 students were eagerly engaged in the assessment. One student was unable to do so because he could not read English Most of the students completed the assessment in 18 to 22 minutes Many of the students were interested in the scores and wanted to know the meaning of the Red, Green and yellow bars The students who completed the assessment early were directed to a computer based math program. At the end of the session, most, if not all, of the students left the computer lab in what appeared to be positive moods. 2014 Summer Staff Development Opportunity: We proudly announce the 2014 Summer Satellite Crossing Lines: Tools For Teaching Tough Topics sponsored by The Memorial Library of NYC and The Holocaust Educators Network. Teachers grades 5-12 are invited to join us in exploring the lessons of the Holocaust and the more recent Secret War in Laos. Meet survivors, witnesses and expert presenters during this exciting week-long seminar. Enjoy traditional cuisine and cultural music and dance in the heart of the Mien, Hmong, and Japanese strawberry fields of Elk Grove/Florin/Sacramento. See the attached flyer for details and a link to the online application. Space is limited ...don't miss this opportunity! Call Pam Bodnar @ 895-4115, if you have any questions. The Superintendent’s Update - Page 4 of 13 NEWS FROM BUSINESS SERVICES Facilities Master Plan: Our Facilities Master Plan should be viewed along the lines of the City of Chico or Butte County General Plan. The Facilities Master Plan is a road map. It creates a strategy for tackling a large scale of needs over many sites over many years. The Facility Master Plan is not intended to be a detailed project list for each school site. The Facilities Master Plan is not the end of the process. CUSD is working with a Facilities Master Plan consultant. We will be working with a number of different design teams and consultants as we dive into the different projects which will make up the different phases of the Facility Master Plan. One component of the Facilities Master Plan is the Implementation Phasing Plan which details seven future phases. The first of these Phases consists of Quick Start Projects which will be underway this summer. The quick start projects consist of: 1) ADA priority list site work which will occur at six elementary schools and the high schools; 2) technology infrastructure for common core at all elementary schools, the high schools and the District Office; 3) enhanced school safety and security measures; and 4) energy efficiency and alternative energy projects.