San Diego Unified School District Newsfeed

A Year Later, Dalai Lama Visit Inspires San Diego

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

IN THE NEWS: A consortium of faith and community groups hosted a daylong celebration of compassion at Cherokee Point Elementary School. See more from KPBS»

Cubberley Elementary students in Lego competition

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Cubberley’s newly formed robotics team, The Metal Bots, were the highest scoring team to complete the “On the Spot Challenge” at Legoland’s LEGO Yard Wars Spring Showdown 2013.

Competing against 26 other middle and elementary schools in the FIRST LEGO League Southern California Region, no coaches or adults were allowed in the pits. Teams were given a new mission to complete with only 30 minutes to rebuild and reprogram their robot to complete the tasks.

The Metal Bots formed early in the school year and have been coached by Kearny High School Robotics Team alumni, team parents and an engineer mentor with the Women in Defense. Team members are also learning how robotics relates in the world. Guest speaker, Dr. Richard Coutts, orthopedic surgeon with Sharp Health Care introduced robotic knee surgery, and engineer Alex Dowell with Sea Botix shared about underwater robots. The Metal Bots are our future doctors, engineers, and scientists!

Spring Showdown 2013 was based on the Junkyard Wars TV series in which two teams were given 24 hours to brainstorm and build a functioning item such as a hover craft, sail plane, torpedo, or dragster, collecting parts inside of the junkyard and later competing head to head in a challenge. The missions for the robotics tournament were based off of the machines that teams built throughout the television series.

For more information, please contact principal, Rosemary Cruz rcruz1@sandi.net and visit the FLL website.

Spanish, French linguists shine at The Language Academy

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

French- and Spanish-language students at the Language Academy, a kindergarten through grade 8 magnet school near San Diego State University, have received gold, silver, bronze and honorable mention awards in Le Grand Concours, the National French Contest, and the National Spanish Exam.

Language Academy is a multicultural school that emphasizes the importance of fluency in multiple languages. The Language Academy offers students the unique opportunity to become bi-literate in either Spanish and English, or French and English.

“This is a highly competitive examination that helps to prepare students for the AP and College Placement Exams." said Marie-Magdeleine Chirole, Southest Region Director for American Association of Teachers of French, the organization that sponsors Le Grand Concours. "This is why your students who received a national ranking deserve special recognition. Their achievements are a testament to the quality of your French program.”

In the French test the Language Academy had 103 students in grades 6-8 take the test, with 25 top-20 percentile Honorable Mention Awards, 55 Bronze medals for National places 10-4, 12 Silver medals for National third and second place, and four Gold medals for National First Place. Several students received medals for the second consecutive year.

Students also excelled in the National Spanish Examinations, which are similar to the National French Contest and is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. This year Language Academy earned seven gold, 16 silver and 18 bronze medals along with 56 honorable mentions among the 132 students in grades 6-8 who took the test. And, as with the French test, there were several repeat winners.

Vote through Friday for your school's volunteer

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Voting has been extended to through this Friday, May 24, in a contest that many San Diego Unified schools, and other schools across the county, are participating in, the Donornation.org/Sprouts Farmers Market School Volunteer of the Year award.

To vote for your favorite school's favorite volunteer, go to schoolvolunteeraward.org and vote for two candidates. Among the San Diego Unified schools participating are: Alcott, Angier, Carver, Cherokee Point, Chollas-Mead, Curie, EB Scripps, Franklin, Gage, Dewey and Kimbrough elementary schools. Bell, Challenger, Dana, Mann and Standley are among the middle schools participating. The high school list includes University City, Madison and Morse.

The Grand Prize Winner’s school will receive a $5,000 donation in the winner’s name from DonorNation. In addition, the winner will also receive $100 in groceries per week for 52 weeks from Sprouts Farmers Market. The First Runner-up’s school will receive, in the winner’s name, a $2,500 donation from DonorNation. Additionally, the winner will receive $100 per week for 26 weeks from Sprouts Farmers Market. The Second Runner-up’s school will receive, in the winner’s name, a $1,500 donation from DonorNation. Additionally, the winner will receive from $100 per week in groceries for 13 weeks Sprouts Farmers Market.

After the public voting phase ends, a Selection Committee consisting of prominent San Diego residents, will review the field of submissions and identify a Grand Prize Winner, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up. We will be announcing the names of the Selection Committee later this month.

Good luck to all the volunteers and schools!

Mira Mesa High "cubing club" featured in video

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

The Rubik's Cube has been mastered by many students at Mira Mesa High School. Watch a student-produced video about their exploits»

JROTC awards ceremony highlights upcoming week

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:00:00 +0000

More than 2,000 expected for parade review, awards event at Morse High on Saturday. Go to district calendar»

Clairemont High students are hungry to give back

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Eleventh-grade students from the Academy of Business and Technology (AOBT) at Clairemont High School and their business mentors participated recently in a community service activity with Feeding America in Sorrento Valley. Together, they packed 5,143 meals (6,850 lbs. of food) in one afternoon.

At the warehouse, students and mentors worked side-by-side at various stations including package integrity, date checking and sorting. At the end of the afternoon, the students had a better understanding that helping others can make a big difference in the community.

“It makes me feel good just knowing that I can help someone else,” said AOBT student Shane Ray. “Helping people and knowing that I will affect someone else, just gives you that good feeling inside, that you made a difference.”

The Academy of Business and Technology gives students a competitive advantage by preparing them for college and career, with an emphasis in business and finance. Students invest in their futures through academic and real-world experiences, team collaboration and connections to business and community partners, while receiving ongoing support in a family environment. Academy students grow to be innovative, articulate and socially engaged young adults who take initiative in their communities and personal endeavors.

The AOBT is a California Partnership Academy (CPA) funded by a grant from the California Department of Education. The CPA model is a three-year program for grades 10-12 and is structured as a school-within-a-school. Academies incorporate integrated academic and career technical education, business partnerships, mentoring and internships.

For more information, contact Lisa McDonnell at lmcdonnell@sandi.net.

Latest state budget proposal shows increase in school funds

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Adjustments to Gov. Jerry Brown's 2013-14 state budget proposal, commonly known as the "May Revise," may mean more funds for San Diego Unified next year.

Gov. Brown’s May revision to his proposals for the 2013-14 State Budget were released on Tuesday, May 14. It reflects changes in the national and state economic outlook and the corresponding effects on revenues generated from the passage of Proposition 30 and the state’s obligation to schools.

“We appreciate the Governor’s continued commitment to supporting our neediest students by maintaining his plan for the Local Control Funding Formula in his May budget proposal," said Superintendent Bill Kowba. "The new investment to support the transition to the Common Core with one time funding will also be very helpful to our district.

"Since ongoing funding for 2013-14 will change only slightly, San Diego Unified will need to stay the course on our budget strategy to balance our structural deficit next year with property sales and attrition based staff reductions. In future years as additional funding materializes, the district can begin to restore education programs that have been lost over the last five years of education budget cuts.”

The Governor’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funding model fixes the state's outdated and broken school finance system with a formula that allow schools maximum flexibility in allocating resources to meet local needs. It will be phased in over several years as funding increases for K‑12 education from Prop. 30 and will include accountability measures for academic and fiscal outcomes.

According to a preliminary analysis by San Diego Unified staff, the May revision proposal includes:

An increase, over the original January proposal, in the repayment to district of previous year "deferrals," funds owed to school districts but held back by the state.
A one-time expenditure statewide of $1 billion to help schools implement Common Core Standards, California's conversion of curriculum to a new national standard. Possibly an additional $18 million for San Diego Unified.
Funds to make up for federal cuts in special education funding.
The fundamental components of the Local Control Funding Formula proposal remain essentially unchanged from January, with an emphasis on providing additional resources to school districts with the highest concentrations of English learners, low-income students, and foster youth, and a commitment to ensuring there is local flexibility and local accountability.

The state Legislature faces a June 15 constitutional deadline for adopting the state budget for 2013-14. For more information on the Governor's plan, visit his website.

Roosevelt Middle students tell ‘The Story of Me’ through art

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:00:00 +0000

Belinda Mora

Five students from Mrs. Fouseki’s photography course at Roosevelt Middle School are among the 200 students whose art is currently on display in the "Young Art 2013: The Story of Me" exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art. The exhibit runs through May 26.

The museum received nearly 350 submissions this year for the exhibit. The art work is competitively judged and not every piece is accepted. All submissions must be tied to the theme each year. Student artwork can tell "The Story of Me" through artistic representations depicting their culture, traditions, family, friends, memories, experiences, or physical appearance through portraiture, narrative and masks.

Roosevelt students featured include seventh graders Destiny Sarmiento and Nicole Pinon, and eighth graders Holly Thomas, Lewis Poor and Belinda Mora.

For more information, visit http://www.sdmart.org/art/exhibit/young-art-2013-story-me.

Madison High cheerleaders pep up Lindbergh-Schweitzer Elementary

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:00:00 +0000

The cheer squad from Madison High wants at the school's cluster mate to make sure it does as good as it can on mandated state tests.

To drive that point home, the squad visited Lindbergh Schweitzer Elementary School to pep up the elementary students just before tests began.

Vice Principal Muriel Bartolini thought having the older students cheer on the younger students as they go through the two weeks of testing would inspire the students to "do their best on the test." Afternoon recess seemed to be the perfect time for the "Hawks" to come cheer for the "Tigers."
Some of the cheerleaders were former students at Lindbergh Schweitzer.

"We love to support the students at Madison, and in turn they have shown their support for our students—a win-win for everyone!" Mrs. Bartolini said, "Three cheers for the Madison Community of Schools!"

Bayview Terrace ceremony kicks off K to College Program

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Free school and dental supplies valued at nearly $70 to low-income students are going to Bayview Terrace Elementary School students thanks to the K to College program.

The program was able to launch earlier than expected due to a donation from local tech firm, Huawei Technologies.

A special assembly to celebrate the kickoff of this program was held at Bayview Terrace recently. Students, staff, parents, district personnel, volunteers from Huawei Technologies, Superintendent-designate Cindy Marten, civic leaders, and representatives from K to College were in attendance. The program intends to expand to other schools in the area and become a twice a year event at each school.

Bayview Terrace Principal Magdalena Tavasci was grateful for the donations. Each kit contains paper, pencils, index cards, binders, dictionary, complete dental kit, and other supplies.

“The gifts being provided by Huawei and K to College will be incredibly valuable in helping students feel more prepared and motivated when they enter the classroom," she said.

K to College is a nonprofit that aims to promote equal access to quality education by ensuring every student has the resources and tools to learn from kindergarten to college. K to College is especially appreciative of its partners, such as Huawei Technologies, who help bring resources to underprivileged students throughout the state.

“It’s only possible with the generosity of companies like Huawei, who choose to invest in their local and future workforce,” said Benito Delgado-Olson, the executive director of K to College. “That is why we are proud to have them as our first San Diego and statewide sponsor.”

– Brenna Goodsitt

High schools rank as 'America's Best' in media polls

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Three separate rankings have been recently released and they find several San Diego Unified School District high schools among the best of the more than 21,000 high schools in the US.

Each listing evaluates schools their interpretation of college-prep or participation. Click on the list's link for information on how the list is determined.

Washington Post

Daily Beast/Newsweek

US News

Ranking: Medal/National/California

National Merit Scholarships go to La Jolla, Scripps Ranch students

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Students from La Jolla and Scripps Ranch high schools have received the prestigious National Merit Scholarships for 2013.

At La Jolla High, Marian Dorst, Kathleen Fan, Marisa C. Nienberg will receive the scholarships; Scripps Ranch High's Kenneth Xu has also been honored.

The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program. National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. These scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions offi cers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.

There’s an additional Gates Scholar from SD Unified; total of eight

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Walter Parker of Crawford High is the eighth student from the San Diego Unified School District to be awarded a Gates Millennial Scholarship for 2013.
Parker joins graduating seniors from Kearny High Science Connections and Technology, San Diego High School of Business, Scripps Ranch High School and University City High schools among 1,000 students nationwide who have been received the scholarships.

San Diego Unified staff unfortunately missed Parker's name on the list of Gates scholars and failed to include it in the April 30 announcement.

The program awards the Class of 2013 Gates Millennium Scholars good-through-graduation scholarships which can be used to pursue degrees in any undergraduate major at the accredited college or university of the recipients’ choice. It is funded through a $1.6 billion grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and has helped remove barriers to education for more than 20,000 high-performing, low income students since it was established in 1999. It is administered by the United Negro College Fund in partnership with with the American Indian Graduate Center Scholars, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund.

Three students from University City High School – Susan Stewart, Matthew Wood and Calvin Yao – received the scholarships. Also receiving scholarships were: from the San Diego High School of Business, Miguel Anzelmetti and Anesheawa Senior; Nhat Quang Thai, Kearny Science Connections and Technology; and Solomon Ephraim, Scripps Ranch High School; and Walter Parker of Crawford High.

"All of us at the San Diego Unified School District commend the hard work of these students and are thrilled with the opportunity they are receiving from the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program," said Superintendent Bill Kowba.

According to the program, it provides recipients with leadership development opportunities, mentoring, academic and social support as well as financial support. Known for its recipients' high graduation rates, Gates Millennium Scholars have a six-year graduation rate of more than 86 percent (38 percent higher than the national graduation rates for all students) and comparable to the rates for students from high-income families.

Students have already been accepted to four-year institutions. Scripps Ranch High's Ephraim is scheduled to attend UC Santa Barbara. At UC High, Susan Stewart is slated for UC Berkeley, New York University or UCLA; Matthew Wood, Brown University; and Calvin Yao, UC Berkeley, University of Chicago or UCLA. San Diego High's School of Business Miguel Anzelmetti is going to UCSD and Anesheawa Senior is going to Tuskegee University. From Crawford High, Walter Parker will be attending UC Davis.

Qualifications for the program include: a 3.3 grade point average; African American, American Indian – Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, or Hispanic American ethnic groups; will enroll for the first time at a U.S. located, accredited college or university (with the exception of students concurrently pursuing a high school diploma) in the fall of 2013 as a full-time, degree-seeking, first-year student; have demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular or other activities; meet the Federal Pell Grant eligibility criteria. First-time college enrollees can also be GED recipients.

For more information, visit the program's website.

Crown Point Junior Music Academy marks 65 years

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Crown Point Junior Music Academy -- originally Crown Point ElementarySchool -- is marking its 65th anniversary.

The school, located just a few blocks from Mission Bay, marked the occasion by saluting some of its alumni, including Scott Barnett, San Diego Unified Board of Education Sub-District C representative; Kevin Faulconer, District 2 member, San Diego City Council; Ian Clampett, a member of Falconer's staff; Joe Wilding, former president of the Pacific Beach Town Council; and San Diego Police Capt. Brian Ahearn.

The school opened in 1948 to serve children in the Crown Point andsouthern Pacific Beach area as houses were built during the post-World War II baby boom. Features of the school today, which was first expanded in 1958, include the Brazilian Pepper trees that provide shade in the lunch courtyard. According to news clippings in the files at the San Diego Unified School District, the trees were donated to the school in 1963 by the Pacific Beach Lions Club. They were planted fully grown, having come from former hotel in La Jolla.

Today, the Crown Point Junior Music Academy is a magnet school that has students from all over San Diego county. They attend the school because of its focus on strong academics through music education. Opened in 2008, the program still serves elementary students but now has integrated all subjects with music. Suzuki violin is available on an optional basis.

For more information on the school, contact Principal Liz Duvall at(858) 273-9830.

Pt. Loma High's Drum Line brings home the gold

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Point Loma High School's Drum Line went all the way to the top of its division at the American Drum Line Association Championships at Long Beach City College.

With their program, "Ritual," 26 students wowed the judges with bass drums, timbales, xylophones, snare drums, cymbals, tenor drums, marimbas, chimes, bass guitar, chimes, timpani, bongos, and a gong.

The students competed with ten other groups in the B Division, which has 38 schools overall. Coaches Henry Stoker, Matthew Rodolfi and Lauren Paris were instrumental in their success in the April 27 competition.

"Coaching is a key to our success, but it costs money," said Laurie Benham, president of the Pt. Loma HIgh School Instrumental Music Boosters. "We'll need to raise a lot more money next year to support the growth of our overall program, and are looking to the community for help."

"It's the students who made it," said coach Henry Stoker. "They work hard they're great to work with."

For more information about Point Loma High School Instrumental Music, go to www.plhsmusic.com.

Grant helps expand safety camera coverage at La Jolla High

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Sun, 12 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Thanks to a $10,000 Public Schools Grant from the philanthropic group Las Patronas to the La Jolla High School Foundation, additional safety and security cameras are expected to be installed.

The cameras are planned to be located around the perimeter of the school, in key locations previously out-of-range of the current equipment. These cameras serve multiple purposes: they are used to help prevent truancy, theft, break-ins and potential dangers for studentsqqwand faculty, among others, according to school receptionist Jo-Ellen Palreiro.

With La Jolla High’s open campus and differing elevations, this is a very difficult task.

“La Jolla High School is different from most other schools in the district, [in that] there are many nooks and crannies where students and adults can hide,” said Will Hawthorne, La Jolla High Vice Principal. “The cameras will be placed in strategic locations that give us a broad scope of the entire campus,”

There are currently 26 cameras scattered around the campus. The new funding is expected to purchase an additional 12 cameras.

According to its website, Las Patronas is a philanthropic organization with a long history of giving. Since its inception in 1946, Las Patronas has donated more than $16 million to more than a thousand charitable institutions in San Diego. The funds distributed to these organizations are generated through year-long fundraising efforts and the annual presentation of the Jewel Ball, one of San Diego’s most enduring social, cultural, and philanthropic traditions.

For more information on the project, contact Hawthorne at (858) 454-3081.

-- Tim Rayner
Editor-in-Chief
La Jolla High School
High Tide

Top Marauder scholars honored at Mira Mesa High

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Sat, 11 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Mira Mesa High School acknowledged 371 students with a 4.0 or higher grade point average in academics for Semester 1 in a recent ceremony. This annual event is an important opportunity to recognize the incredible academic success of students in grades 9-12.

The Class of 2013 Valedictorians, William Quach and Salutatorian, Benjamin Lam, were also introduced to the students, staff and community, receiving medallions from Principal Scott Giusti. There were speakers discussing the importance of maintaining the excellence and dedication to academics that these students have exhibited. Students were inspired by peers and find the experience rewarding to be surrounded by so many other students (and families) who value high scholastic achievement.

Each Top Scholar receives an award and a pin which they can collect through the years and wear with their cap and gown in the graduation ceremony their senior year. If you have any questions about Top Scholars, please contact Vice Principal, Sara Leonard at sleonard@sandi.net or 858-566-2262.

SD Unified's technology transformation highlighted in video

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Fri, 10 May 2013 22:30:00 +0000

San Diego Unified's technology transformation -- accomplished during lean funding times in a recession – has been supported by the community and is providing students with countless benefits. Watch video»

Busy week coming up for school board, committees, schools

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Fri, 10 May 2013 21:00:00 +0000

The week of May 13 is going to be a busy week for the School Board school board, committees and schools. On Tuesday, May 14, the Board of Education meets; on Wednesday, the District Advisory Committee for Compensatory Education Programs is scheduled; and three cluster committees have meetings. At schools there are food truck fundraisers, plays and open houses. Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month continues. Go to district calendar»

Area 4 Superintendent honored at recent awards dinner

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Area 4 Superintendent Dr. Marian Kim-Phelps was formally recognized recently for being named the 2013 Central Office Administrator of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 18. Dr. Phelps oversees the Clairemont, Kearny and Madison clusters.

The recognition took place at the annual "Honoring Our Own" awards dinner, sponsored by Association of California School Administrators and San Diego County School Boards Association. More than 20 educators in a variety of job categories within ACSA Region 18 were honored along with Dr. Phelps. Superintendent Bill Kowba, Superintendent Designate Cindy Marten, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Nellie Meyer, Area 4 principals and office staff joined in the celebration.

The mission of ACSA is to support California's educational leaders; to ensure all children have the essential skills and knowledge needed to excel; and to champion public education. Nearly 1,000 educational leaders belong to ACSA Region 18, which encompasses San Diego and Imperial Counties.

‘Roadeo school’ bus drivers bring trophies back to San Diego Unified

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

San Diego Unified's Special Needs Roadeo team of Robelyn Watson and her attendant, Cindy Wrightcame, in third in the recent National Special Needs Team Roadeo in Frisco, Tx.

Watson, a State Certified Instructor who is an Extraboard School Bus Driver, and Wright, also a State Certified Instructor who is an Instructor for San Diego Unified, are part of the district's Transportation Department team, which transports thousands of students daily with special needs or students changing schools under the federal No Child Left Behind act. The department has a history of victory in regional Roadeos -- organized competitions between districts to show school bus drivers' skill and safety.

The competition tests the skills and knowledge of the driver and attendant in a variety of written and drive tests focusing on special needs understanding.

Some of the areas of knowledge tested are wheelchair securement, manufacturing and laws; pupil management of special needs students; car seat knowledge and securement; safe emergency evacuation from an imaginary fire on the bus; pre-trip of the school bus (which is required of every bus driven every day by every driver!); driving skills (while managing unruly passengers!) and a written test that requires the contestants to research a variety of disabilities, laws and special need knowledge.

The focus of the competition is to learn and improve the skills of the drivers and attendants. The competition is sponsored by the National Association of Pupil Transportation and School Transportation News.

Teams from throughout the US came to Texas to participate. Robelyn and Cindy look forward to participating again in 2014. Robelyn will be competing in the Special Needs category soon in the California Association of School Transportation Officials Southern Sectional Roadeo in Apple Valley. She will be joined by the rest of San Diego Unified's Roadeo team, who compete in the categories of Transit or Conventional and Special Needs school bus.

San Diego Unified School District Launches Prop. Z Program with Sale of $530 Million in Bonds

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:04:00 +0000

San Diego Unified received $530 million on April 30 after selling a portion of its $2.8 billion in general obligation bonds for Prop. Z, the bond measure approved by nearly 62 percent of the San Diego voters on Nov. 6, 2012. The bond funds will be used to continue repairing, renovating and revitalizing neighborhood schools. Bond projects include classroom technology, new/renovated facilities for College, Career and Technical Education, air conditioning, safety and security upgrades, turf fields, and other capital improvements at traditional and charter schools throughout the district. By law, the funds cannot be used for teacher or school administrator salaries.

Construction at Knox Middle School.

The school district took advantage of low taxable interest rates and tax-exempt financing to pay for classroom technology. The recent bond sales were structured so that the useful life of assets matched the maturity of bonds. Technology projects have shorter term bonds, while construction projects have longer term bonds.

"The school district used an innovative multiple maturity structure that allowed it to match the useful life of assets to specific needs, and get a very low cost of borrowing," according to Stan Dobbs, chief financial officer for San Diego Unified. "At 1.78 the school district's debt repayment ratio is very low, which gets the taxpayer more for their money. In fact, this was the lowest interest cost of any of the general obligation bond sales since the inception of the district's Prop. MM, the bond measure approved by San Diego voters in 1998."

Before the sale, credit ratings were requested from Moody's Investor's Service and Standard and Poor's Ratings Services for the bonds. San Diego Unified's finance team diligently pursued ratings from the rating agencies, and made its case that factors that secure the bonds are stable. As a result of Moody's and Standard and Poor's review, the bonds were assigned a rating of Aa3 (stable outlook) by Moody's and AA- by Standard and Poor's .

"Achieving such solid investment grade ratings from the rating agencies helped to generate confidence from a variety of buyers, which ultimately led to a lower cost of borrowing for the school district," said Dobbs. "The school district also used several innovative strategies to achieve the lowest cost of borrowing, which included aggressive pricing of its bonds, conservative debt structure and maintaining high credit ratings."

The district does not receive all of the $2.8 billion Prop. Z bond funds at once. It receives them incrementally based on the frequency of bond sales. Additional bond sales will be conducted during the life of the facilities bond program. The next one is slated for 2015.

At its May 14 meeting, the Board of Education will review the Prop. Z project plan that will utilize the bond proceeds.

Patrick Henry freshman relaxes... by writing a novel

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

After a tiring day at school, there’s nothing freshman Olivia Silva enjoys more than sitting down, turning on some Green Day, and writing a novel. Resistance, a 225-page story Olivia began writing in middle school, is on its way to becoming her first published book.

Olivia Silva

From the beginning of her second semester of sixth grade, Olivia began writing her story as an outlet from the day’s troubles.

“Resistance describes a post-nuclear war America that was taken over by Talists, an oppressive political party that most citizens hadn’t even heard of until it was too late,” Olivia said. “The bulk of the book tells the story of the struggle between the new government and a rebellious group of people, known as the Resistance. However, much of the conflict doesn’t necessarily belong to a single character and the government is not the only thing they are rebelling against.”

The Talists, the main antagonists of the story, budded out of Olivia’s earliest reflections upon her new-found understanding of politics. As the editing process continues and the reviews from peers and teachers drive her to improve her colossal work, her current viewpoints on the characters’ struggles become more apparent.

“Some of the themes in Resistance reflect what I thought in sixth grade and others reflect what I believe now,” she said. The content of her book, with a deep, controversial conflict and descriptions more richly worded than many authors three times her age could write, Olivia’s talent and intelligence are evident in the pages of the story she worked so hard to create.

“There are also moral and religious aspects in the story, and at the time, I was trying to figure out what I believed. By the time I finished and revised it, I wasn’t so confused anymore,” she said.

In order to finally reach the sweet point of publication, Olivia must deal with flaky editors and unimpressed publishers. Even with half a dozen rejected query letters behind her, she remains hopeful that her first few chapters of work will shine through to someone.

“Even though the first couple publishers I’ve sent Resistance to have not accepted it, I still have that desire to be heard and I’ll submit it to however many I have to in order to get it published,” she said. While she may never really know how an after-school idea in her head became an enormous superstory, Olivia is sure she wants the world to read it.

“I feel as though I have something important to say, only I can’t speak it. I’m kind of quiet and shy, but through writing, I don’t have to speak and I feel a lot more confident,” she said.

Writing has always been natural for Olivia, who has been drawn to the written word since she first learned to write. One of her first stories, “Butter,” told the woesome tale of a time she mistook butter for cheese and ate it plain.

“It didn’t really have a happy ending,” she recalled. Since “Butter,” Olivia has been escaping to song lyrics, short stories, poems, and even novels as a way to create a world to get away from the one she’s in.

There’s no gimmick behind Resistance, no reason to say, “this is good…for a sixth grader.” Through finding and revealing her stances on the controversial conflicts of the characters, Olivia says, “subconsciously, I wrote Resistance to discover who I was.” With teenage writing publication TeenInk featuring her works online and English teachers marveling at their new miracle student after she writes her first essay, there’s no question that Olivia Silva’s writing will end up published, the only question is when.

Execerpt from poem, “This is What it’s Like,” featured as an editor’s pick on TeenInk

“Buildings tower over my small figure, distorted and gray and like splotches of black ink on a parchment letter. The tarred road is cracked and torn, reeking of sweat, blood, and petroleum. I lift my head to the sky to catch the rain that is sure to fall, but it seems as though the clouds have deceived me.”

-- Brianna Pinto
Patriot Press
Patrick Henry High

Therapy dogs help Whitman, Lafayette, CPMA and Madison deaf, hard of hearing students

noreply@blogger.com (San Diego Unified School District News) — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

All San Diego Unified students are expected to receive their high school diplomas and degreed, four-legged visitors to four San Diego Unified campuses are helping deaf, hard of hearing students to reach that goal.

Specially trained collies Lana and Amos, trained by Michael Neu and his wife, Karen Meyer, have had a significant positive effect on academics for students who are deaf/ hard-of-hearing at Whitman, Lafayette, CPMA and Madison, said Jeanne Cicchetto, a San Diego Unified Resource Teacher in the deaf/hard-of-hearing program.

"Regular visits with these collies have provided students with an opportunity to learn about canine care and how hearing dogs can assist people with hearing loss both in their homes and in the community," she said. "Students return to their classwork with an increased ability to focus and an obvious feeling of well-being. Improved communication skills, independence and self-esteem are other benefits the students exhibit after their canine visits."

For more information on the program, contact Cicchetto at 858-490-8412.