SAUSD E-Blast for June 16, 2017 |
The weekly e-blast is designed to keep the Santa Ana Unified School District Community informed of district and educational information, recognitions, opportunities, and resources. Please feel free to share with others who are not on the SAUSD distribution list. |
SADDLEBACK HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WINS PERFECT ATTENDANCE CAR GIVEAWAY Jose Perez of Saddleback High School has won a new car in the 2017 Perfect Attendance Car Giveaway courtesy of Bruce Hamlin, owner of Guaranty Chevrolet in Santa Ana. Every year, Hamlin hosts a celebration in the Guaranty Chevrolet showroom for SAUSD high school students with perfect attendance for the year; this year 733 students were eligible. "The main reason we do this is to help the community," said Hamlin. "The more students that attend classes daily, the more educated the student becomes. Those are the people that become good citizens and therefore help the community." The Santa Ana Unified School District promotes the importance of attending school each and every day to students and parents throughout the year. The Perfect Attendance Car Giveaway is one of the district's innovative strategies to reduce absenteeism. SUPERINTENDENT'S MESSAGE: Superintendent Dr. Stefanie Phillips in a new video message stressed the importance of creating bonds with businesses, like Guaranty Chevrolet, and other organizations in the Santa Ana community for the benefit of our students. "It's really important to us that we support our kids any way we can and build those connections within the community and within the schools," she said. To view the video, click here. |
MIDDLE COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT 2017 The commencement ceremony for Middle College High School, the Santa Ana Unified School District's early college high school located on the campus of Santa Ana College, was held June 14, 2017 in SAC's Cook Gym. Fifty-four students graduated with both their high school diplomas and associate's degrees from SAC. In addition, many students graduated with honors, high honors, Presidential Honors, Seals of Biliteracy and more. Mark Gutierrez was valedictorian; Nancy Mendoza was salutatorian. The school has a graduation rate of 100 percent. To view photos from the ceremony, click on this Orange County Register story and our Facebook photo gallery. |
SANTA ANA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE GROWS 18.9% IN SEVEN YEARS As part of our continued series highlighting Santa Ana Unified's soaring graduation rates, today we spotlight Santa Ana Valley High School, which has seen impressive improvement in its graduation rate over the past seven years. The school's graduation rate has increased by 18.9% to 88.9% - which is higher the state rate of 83.2%. "I believe the commitment to rigorous literacy instruction by our teachers, the focus on academy development, and the cultivation of parent and community partnerships have greatly contributed to this graduation growth rate," said Principal David Richey. The District has also experienced an 11.5% increase in overall graduation rates in the same period. In addition, Valley's drop-out rate over the last seven years has decreased significantly from 22.9% to 6.2%, lower than the statewide rate of 9.8%. |
SADDLEBACK SENIORS RETURN TO WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO PURSUE EDUCATION On June 12, 2017, about 30 graduating seniors from Saddleback High School who once attended Washington Elementary returned to their elementary school campus for an event designed to showcase the students' educational accomplishments and post-high school plans. The high school students, dressed in caps and gowns, visited classrooms, walked the halls and were recognized in front of the student body in celebration of their graduation and alumni status to Washington. To view photos and video, click here. Santa Ana Valley High School seniors are also scheduled to walk to Diamond, Carl Harvey and John Adams elementary schools during the "Valley Senior Walk" on Friday, June 16, 2017, where they will also encourage students to plan for college and careers. |
360 SANTA ANA UNIFIED STUDENTS TAKE PART IN MATH FIELD DAY The 22nd Annual Math Field Day - an annual math competition for 4th-8th graders selected by teacher coaches to represent their school sites - was held recently at Villa Fundamental Intermediate. Students competed in mental math, algebraic thinking, geometry, problem solving (BreakOUT Edu) and STEM. Math curriculum specialists organized and managed the event which drew 360 student math-letes, about 90 teacher coaches, and about 25 volunteers from AVID SAUSD, Orange County Math Council, and LionHeart. Science curriculum specialists developed the STEM event, prepared the materials for each team and volunteered during the day. Superintendent Dr. Stefanie Phillips, Dr. Alfonso Jimenez, and Dr. Nadia Hillman opened the day with a welcome to parents, students, and coaches. At the end of the day, Dr. Jimenez and Dr. Hillman presented each award for grades 4-8 in every event while site administrators participated by handing out the medals to the winners. |
BOARD OF EDUCATION RECOGNIZES EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH FOR JUNE 2017 The Board of Education at its June 13, 2017 meeting recognized Kristen Abadjian as the District's Certificated Employee of the Month for June 2017. Abadjian is a teacher at Mitchell Child Development Center. "Kristen is just phenomenal," said Principal Mark Bello in a new video about Abadjian. "She has a positive attitude, and she works very well with the children and the staff." To watch the video, click here. During the same meeting, the Board also honored Alicia Islas-Nava as the Classified Employee of the Month for June 2017. Islas-Nava is a registrar for Independent Studies. "She is an amazing woman who goes out of her way and gives from her heart in everything that she does," said Principal Michael Parra. To watch a video about her, click here. |
DR. DAVID HAGLUND APPOINTED SUPERINTENDENT OF PLEASANTON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Congratulations to Dr. David Haglund, SAUSD Deputy Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer, for his recent appointment to be Superintendent of Pleasanton Unified School District. "While I am excited for this new challenge, I will miss my SAUSD family. I have been incredibly fortunate to be a part of the leadership team in Santa Ana and extremely proud of the work we did together across these past several years. I trust that the amazing teachers, supportive staff, and passionate parents will push forward and build on each of our shared accomplishments and continue to build bridges to new and greater opportunities for the families of Santa Ana," said Dr. Haglund. He also noted that he thanked the SAUSD Board of Trustees and Superintendent Phillips, for their trust and their commitment to keeping students at the forefront of their decision making. |
DELOITTE VOLUNTEERS BEAUTIFY JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY Volunteers from Deloitte recently made a difference at Jefferson Elementary by interacting with students and beautifying the campus with colorful murals during Deloitte Impact Day. "We will be sending thank you cards to Deloitte volunteers," said Fernando Durán, Ph.D., Principal of Jefferson Elementary. "I think they will be delighted to display them in their offices." For more photos, click here. |
TAFT ELEMENTARY RECEIVES NEW GARDEN FROM DAVITA INC. Taft Elementary students are enjoying a new garden, courtesy of DaVita Inc. The project took root when a Taft parent, who is an employee at DaVita, approached Principal Steven Longacre with the idea of installing a garden center at the school with the help of DaVita volunteers. DaVita Inc. volunteers visited the school site on Earth Day to set up the planters and install a water tank for Taft students. They also purchased a shed for the school to store its supplies. A grand opening ceremony took place in May, with members of the DaVita Team present to help Taft students celebrate! |
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BOARD HIGHLIGHTS The meeting of the Board of Education convened on Tuesday, June 13, 2017. The Board heard final reports from the District's High School Ambassadors and recognized them for their dedicated participation in the program. The Board also recognized Certificated Employee of the Month for June 2017, Kristen Abadjian; Classified Employee of the Month for June 2017, Alicia Islas-Nava; and Student Support Provider Alfredo Guillen who has been instrumental in growning the Chess Club at Davis Elementary. The next Regular Meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, June 27, 2017, at 6:00 p.m. Members of the SAUSD Board of Education John Palacio, President Valerie Amezua, Vice President Cecilia "Ceci" Iglesias, Clerk Alfonso Alvarez, Ed.D., Member Rigo Rodriguez, Ph.D, Member |
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'BAD APPLES' TAKE TOP PLACE IN DISTRICT-WIDE WEIGHT LOSS COMPETITION "Bad Apples" - a group of five SAUSD employees from Lowell Elementary School - was recently presented with a check for taking the top spot in the District's recent weight loss challenge. The Healthy Wage weight loss program was a national team-based weight loss challenge that ran for three months starting in January 2017. Teams were made up of five members with a cost of $75 each. The District's Health Benefits Authority committee approved for the District to subsidize 50 percent of the cost for the first 20 teams (100 employees) to participate. The top national prize was up to $10,000. Because SAUSD had a minimum of 10 teams register, SAUSD became eligible for the top team to win $1,500. SAUSD had 181 participants with a total weight loss of 1,509.5 pounds. Team "Bad Apples" was the top SAUSD team to win. The five individuals from "Bad Apples" are Telly S., Lorena R., Kevin O., Maria S. and Liza V. The top SAUSD employees with the highest percentage of weight loss are Lorena Rubio, Andrea Cortez, Liza Villa, Irma Lyons and Maria Martinez. |
SAUSD EMPLOYEES BECOME GOOGLE CERTIFIED EDUCATORS Stacy Kline - Program Specialist, Learning Innovation with Technology for Santa Ana Unified - recently took to Twitter to showcase the District's Google Certified Educator training and to celebrate those who have taken part, just in time for the official Google in Education PD Week. During the 2016-2017 school year, SAUSD will have trained 87 teachers and staff members. Over 30 staff members choose to attend the rigorous, three-hour, Level 1 exam and 28 passed for GCE Level 1. The first SAUSD GCE Level 2 training class was held in May 2017 with 10 teachers passing the GCE Level 2 exam. One SAUSD teacher became a Google Certified Trainer in early 2017. The training has allowed the District to foster a "Trainer of Trainers" model to help SAUSD teachers acquire the skills they need to use Google Apps for Education tools for instruction and to be able to teach our students how to use Google Apps tools in their learning, Kline said. "We really have cause to be proud of our SAUSD program because of its extensive support and our teacher commitment to the training and the examination and certification process." |
CAL STATE LONG BEACH ALUMNI GROUP SEEKS TO CONNECT WITH SAUSD STAFF The Orange County Regional Council of CSULB Alumni is seeking to connect with fellow alumni working in the Santa Ana Unified School District. In doing so, the group aims to further allow SAUSD to prepare, support and "follow" graduates as they pursue higher education, while developing deeper connections with the higher education institutions in the local area, said Michael Moss, Career/College Pathway Coordinator 9-10 for Santa Ana Valley High School. For example, this month the Orange County Regional Council partnered with 17 Long Beach alumni on staff at Valley to provide backpacks (or 'Dirtbags' as they are affectionately called) full of supplies and necessities for two students who will more than likely be commuters, like some of the CSULB alumni were in their college days. The 'Dirtbags' will be presented at a luncheon on Monday, June 19, 2017. For information on the Council, contact Jackie O'Day at 562-985-2800 or Jackie.ODay@csulb.edu. |
