Dear MTUESD Community,
Many thanks to all the parents/guardians and volunteers who spoiled the staff this week. The kindness, love, and care that you showed is truly appreciated. The special treats, decorations, and wonderful food is truly a great kindness. We appreciate all of the love and attention from our Copperopolis Parent Teacher Club, The Badger Boosters, and all of the businesses that supported those organizations' efforts to make those celebrations happen. Very special!
Please take a minute to complete the two surveys that went out this past weekend on Infinite Campus email. The first one was for special ed feedback. As you know, we have a high special ed population in our county, and we continuously review our service to see what we can do to celebrate what’s going right and improve areas that need to get better. If your student does not receive special education service, there is no need to fill out that survey. The second survey was related to the proposed 27/28 middle school reconfiguration. As I’ve explained, we continue to have to cut our staff proportionate to our declining enrollment. The cuts are being taken in the kindergarten-fifth grade band historically and that has caused our elementary class sizes to bulge. We have an outstanding middle school program, and we need to balance that student-to-teacher ratio in the middle school which currently has contacts of 22 kids per class while some of our elementary classes are 33 to 36. Take a minute to fill that out or give me a call if you want to talk at 650-996-3290. Again, this proposal is not for this year. It is for the 27/28 school year. Declining enrollment is not just a problem faced by our school district. It is a statewide problem post Covid. At some point, the state will fix it with a funding adjustment, but I’m not hopeful. It will be anytime soon. I want to shout out the parents that came. Sharing your heart and your feelings takes courage. I am all about hard conversations, because I don’t have all the answers. The respect and kindness that was shown all around is a tribute to this community, and I deeply appreciate and respect it.
I’ve had the pleasure of subbing at Mark Twain last week and visiting as usual weekly at Copperopolis. Super proud of the staff as they care for your kids. This time of year, everybody’s running on a little bit empty with all of the year-end craziness. Throw on top a little Frog Jump, and it’s a bit wild. Don’t miss your students' Open Houses and invite all of your family and friends to celebrate all that your kid has become. Open House at Mark Twain is May 19 and the Spring Sing at Copperopolis is May 21. Last year at the Spring Sing, I thought I was at a Taylor Swift concert because the parking was overflowing in the neighboring fields. If you have elderly folk to get out of the car, don’t hesitate to pull into the bus lane and unload. My grandma lived to be 102, and she was firm that she was coming to my kid’s every single performance but getting them there was kind of a hurdle.
In other news, you will be getting a link for a paperless registration packet. Please take a moment to fill that out. This will save you having to fill out the heap of forms by hand, on the first day of school. We are getting away from paper registration packets and have tied this system into our school information system so that the secretaries don’t have to transfer all that information by hand. Help us make sure your student has a placement in a class by filling out the paperwork IN ADVANCE. If your student does not live in the district boundaries, you will need to fill out a transfer request. We honor transfers as best we can, first serving our local children, and then filling in with additional kids. It’s very important that you start that process now. The way it works is that you get a transfer request from the district that you live in and get it signed off by the DISTRICT YOU LIVE IN. That District will send it to us for review/approval. Follow the steps so you don’t have a disruption in service. Residential documents will be required as part of the registration process this year, and of course, vaccination information must be uploaded, if you have not previously enrolled here before. Remember, middle school students have the TDAP update needed, so get it done early.
THERE IS STILL TIME TO REGISTER FOR SUMMER SCHOOL! See the office! Our Summer Program is LIKE Burger King have it your way–Session A or Session B? Mornings or Afternoons or BOTH? This is a GREAT PROGRAM with tons of enrichment activities and small group academics!
On a final note, I am a Soroptimist, and we raised a bunch of money for girls’ and women’s scholarships with the Chili Cookoff last week at the Murphy’s Hotel. I HAVE TO LOVE THAT ONE OF OUR YOUNG STUDENTS, AVERY PARKER, a fourth grader in Ms. Rodriguez’s room, came with his mom and dad to enter a booth with a YUMMY POT OF CHILI. A SERVICE HEART STARTS EARLY. THANK YOU AVERY AND PARENTAL TEAM! A special award was given for his community service. My dream at MT and Copper is to build young leaders through service. Academics and sports are AMAZING AND VALUED, but what you do for others is the true legacy of a life. He may not have won the chili award, but he won my heart.
Have a beautiful weekend ahead. A very HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to our dedicated moms!
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson
Superintendent
650-996-3290