Dear MTUESD Community,
WHAT FUN THE COPPEROPOLIS CARNIVAL/TRUNK OR TREAT AND THE MT CARNIVAL WERE FOR OUR KIDS AND FAMILIES. This is why we LOVE living in small towns and participating in a community committed to absolutely AMAZING, healthy, and kid-centered events. THANK YOU to all who donated candy, time, displays, and energy to these endeavors. Memory-making for a child is the gift that lasts a lifetime. Our kids received a big gift this past week because of you...
I want to just take a moment to remind you to take a look at your student’s cell phone. Kids in text groups say the stupidest things including words like “I’m gonna kill you”. In today’s school environment, I don’t get the luxury of context when items are reported to me initially, which is super unfortunate. If someone forwards me a specific credible threat, it goes to law enforcement for investigation, and we unwind it together. I think we can all understand the reason why. If I was wrong, and there was an incident, we would have tragedy on our hands. Students don’t understand that Snapchat doesn’t just go away because they forget that somebody can screenshot it. And if that stupid message gets forwarded on and on and on and on and on, then the problem just kind of snowballs like an avalanche down the mountain and your kid’s name is attached to the screenshot. Letting your kid have a phone is a privilege and it’s not invading their privacy to look at it. That’s called good parenting. Kids are called kids for a reason. It’s because they haven’t had a chance to grow up and gain the judgment and experience to make consistent good choices, and that’s where we come in and help them out a little bit with SUPERVISION. Please help me, help your kids. Take a look at that cell phone content. I want to thank the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office for their support last week as we had to unwind a text thread. All is well and no harm, no foul, but it took a lot of their time and our time and was unfortunate for the students and their families that inappropriate language was used in the text string and caused the mess.
I also want to take a moment to PLEASE, before you post on social media anything about a school incident, take two minutes and text or call me at 650-996-3290 to make sure you have the CORRECT information. We have collectively worked really hard over the past year to uplift our district and one well-intentioned, incorrect post hurts all of our kids, families, property values, and staff. CALL ME. I usually always pick up, so take a moment to talk and find out!
This week I want to shout out our paraprofessionals. For the most part, these folks work with students with learning differences or behavior. The patience that it takes to support these kids is incredible. We appreciate their hard work. For our folks at home that have students on any kind of medication, please make sure they take it. If your student is pushing boundaries at home, please reach out to us and we’ll see if we can find some resources to support you. We’re a team and we need to work together.
I am super excited to have been asked to host the on-line forum for the candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) by the Small School Districts Association! This is an advocacy group for small school districts, and we need to PACK THE VIRTUAL ROOM so if one of these candidates gets elected, they know that small districts are engaged and present.
Have a wonderful weekend ahead!
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson
Superintendent
650-996-3290