Dear MTUESD Community,
We had a wonderful showing at the Nature Bowl. Congratulations to the participants from both Copperopolis and Mark Twain for their great efforts. We also appreciate the staff members who took the time to coach the students, kudos to Cailey Gomez, Jana Taylor, Lori Oliver, and Kate Callier. One of the best things about living in a community like ours is that we get these opportunities to participate in amazing settings like New Melones. GO FIGURE that in SAN FRANCISCO. It doesn’t happen.
And then, I HAVE TO SHOUT OUT VOLLEYBALL. Mark Twain 8TH GRADE PLACED FIRST, Mark Twain 7TH PLACED 2ND, COPPER 6th GRADE FOUGHT HARD TO 2ND, MARK TWAIN 6TH PLACED 3RD…YAHOO–POWERHOUSES BEING BUILT. SO COOL!
Okay, I am just going to be real and say, there is a local administrator that I know and admire that introduces him/herself with the word “THE” (name that school). Our kids in this district ARE WORTHY OF “THE” DESIGNATION, SO DIG IN FOLKS. THESE KIDS ARE SMART. LET THEM DIG IN AND SHOW WHAT THEY KNOW.
We are well into state testing, and the kids are doing a great job. Again, we don’t look for perfection. We look for growth. This is a report card on your neighborhood school and every single kid matters. It also lets me know where we have our strengths and where we have our weaknesses and areas that we need to grow. We made it really fun this year with T-shirts and bracelets and reward card drawings. Middle schoolers, who attend on all the scheduled days and have a best effort, are invited to a Cowabunga party. The middle school class that wears their shirt the most on spirit day gets the cut cards to the front of the line which is a good thing. Other classes receive other rewards for their spirit. I appreciate all the parents and guardians that are in partnership with us. This testing matters. Taking tests is part of life. You know what’s cool? ONLY TWO FAMILIES IN THE WHOLE DISTRICT ASKED FOR AN OPT OUT. You ALL GET THIS MATTERS. I FIGHT FOR YOU, BUT YOU NEED TO FIGHT FOR ME TOO.
RIGHT ON.
Charging into next year…People often ask me about class assignments. Again, we take those class placements extremely seriously, and we rely on the teachers to know what would be a good fit for the student related to interpersonal relationships with other students and we appreciate everyone understanding that requests can’t always be honored. We look at the whole student population in order to ensure that we have balanced classes. Hang in there and trust us to ensure that we want what is best for all students.
It’s hard to believe we are thinking about next year, but just a reminder to make sure those vaccinations are up to date and look for the link for our online registration packet. It would be wonderful if you can get that submitted for school and this year. The good news is that she won’t be stuck with a pile of forms at the beginning of the year, if you take care of this now. I’ll be announcing when that link comes out.
I went to a variety of community events last week and one of the most heartwarming was the Soroptimist awards. This ladies organization which promotes scholarships and achievement for young girls and women is not only a great deal of fun, but they do some incredible work. At the dinner for young women in the community, the Live Your Dream awards honored Emily Anderson-Mucks, after school ELOP lead at Mark Twain and Rhiannon Salazar on our Facilities staff. They were honored for their achievements in going back to school and working hard every day for kids. It was a great event. If anyone ever has an interest in what the organization does, please come talk to me. We are always looking for partners. The next event will be the chili cookoff hotel on May 2. That’s fun. I didn’t know my calling in education until going back to school age 42 for a teaching credential. Celebrate those in our community that are transforming lives every day.
I have been in touch with Caltrans since they’ve communicated that work is scheduled to begin again on April 16. The contractors will work diligently throughout the rest of the year depending on weather. I know this is a hardship and traffic can be impacted. Your understanding to keep a little bit earlier for school is greatly appreciated.
As you know, the state really hammered us on attendance. I don’t have a problem with that because we want kids to come to school. There are so many studies that show that even if a student is absent just 10 days a year over the course of their school career, it can have a terrible impact on their learning trajectory. Ten is the number where you get referred to SARB, even if it’s for a legitimate excused absence. We work hard to prevent that by sending those early notification letters, having conversations about what’s going on or what support you need, etc. People always say, “Louise, it’s just about the money but it’s not about the kid”. And that is not true. It is one more thing we have to report on and frankly it’s bad for kids not to be at school. In case you don’t know what, SARB is, it’s a student attendance review board and it’s held at the County Office. It’s a group that is collaborating to support students to come to school. This looks like different agencies, such as behavioral health, sheriff, and other County Office support. The idea is that it creates solutions to minimize absence. In extreme cases where students continue to be absent, then the case is referred to the district attorney. That is my last preference as I really want to find out how to help, but we are required to take action if we’re not making a change. I want to compliment Sara Tuthill this year on really being mindful about that attendance. Attendance is related to achievement. If we have kids with learning gaps now and we keep them allowing them not to come to school, those gaps get bigger and bigger and bigger.
Okay, soap box is DONE. I shouldn’t have to chase people to be responsible parents. My job is to educate kids. Somewhere, this system BROKE DOWN. May all parents step up and get their kids to school so we can celebrate ALL THAT MTUESD CAN BECOME….
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson
Superintendent
EVERY STUDENT. EVERY DAY. EVERY POSSIBILITY.
650-996-3290