Dear MTUESD community,
We are almost done with the statewide assessments. Testing concludes today with just a couple of make-up sessions to go. I want to complement your students again for their commitment and care to do their best. The culture at school was really exciting, and the kids loved the gift cards and rewards, and everyone was celebrated for their hard work and effort. It takes a while to get the scores and while I’m expecting to see significant improvement, just the amazing improvement in their attitude and commitment is a huge development, and I am so proud of them. Michele Whittier will be holding a little dance for the young ones during their lunch as a celebration in the next week or so and middle school has their Cowabunga party on May 7 at MT. Mrs. Handgis at Copper has a special end of testing event planned for the playground with fun and treats!
I will be coming down to Copper on Thursday, April 30 at 5 PM in the library. As you know, we’re trying to figure out how to maintain our amazing middle school staff with declining enrollment. Bringing sixth grade up to MT, not next year, but the year after seems like the most sensible way to maintain a fabulous program and not continue to take our declining enrollment cuts in the elementary grades which is causing our elementary classes to bulge. We have been collaborating with middle school staff on how this works, so I’m excited to visit with you. We are doing this change with noticing a full year in advance, so that parents have a chance in fifth grade to make sure students have appropriate celebrations for graduation and ending their career at their elementary school before they matriculate to middle school. It makes sense for a lot of reasons, but I look forward to visiting with you about it on April 30.
The modular restroom is in the second phase of plan check in DSA. My hope at Mark Twain is to get that installed in fall of this year. We will be able to do the work while school is in session as it is a standalone site. We have three rooms at Copper receiving carpet replacement over the summer and four rooms at Mark Twain. The middle school interiors will also be painted.
So many year-end events that I don’t want to list them all because I’m sure I will miss something. Please make sure that you are checking your site dialers and emails so that you can ensure you know all of the upcoming events.
We are finishing our LCAP. Ours is very simple and CLEAR. When I got here, we had a broader plan, but we had two things in mind that were focus areas: Academic Improvement/Enrichment and Climate and Safety that we needed to fix. Together, we’ve made huge progress on both, and we have one more year of the plan before it is rewritten for the next three-year cycle. Here is the link to the LCAP hub. MTUESD LCAP HUB. We always welcome comments and feedback. Email me at lsimson@mtwain.k12.ca.us.
I want to take this time to recognize all of the volunteers across both sites and the Booster and Parent Clubs for all they do for staff. Those extra hands in the classroom, those kind words of encouragement, the special treats in the staff room, and the supportive funding for special classroom projects, really means so much. Some days teaching and being a support staff member for a student is hard. It’s the best job in the whole world, but some days it just needs somebody to give you a little bit of encouragement. Those partnerships with our community volunteers and organizations are truly magical.
The Frog Jump is just around the corner. Remember, we are off Thursday and Friday. Please do not be confused by other district calendars. Some schools take off the whole week in the county. We do ask that you make sure your kids are here on the other days. We still have a lot of work to do between Frog Jump and the end of school. Learning never stops!
I also would like to take this time to thank our school board for their effort and care for our kids. They have done some big lifts over the past couple of years, and it’s been an absolute pleasure to work with them all. When you see Christy Miro, Scott McNurlin, Mr. Randall, Cora Broglio, and Tonya Ziehlke. Please say thank you.
Have a safe and happy weekend ahead.
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson
Superintendent
650-996-3290
EVERY STUDENT. EVERY DAY. EVERY POSSIBILITY.