Internet Safety Tips
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Honoring Our Volunteers
Linda Ford of Monterey Trail High School
Linda Ford was recognized as an Education Partner at the September 6, 2011, meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education. Linda has been a key volunteer at Monterey Trail High School and the Monterey Trail region since her first child enrolled there in 2008. She has been an avid supporter of student government and activities while encouraging all three of her children to participate in the Monterey Trail and Edward Harris, Jr. Middle School leadership programs. Linda has also served as a board member for the Monterey Trail Athletic Booster Club, donating her time in organizing and working in the concession stand and helping to coordinate annual team banquets. She also serves as a board member and treasurer for the Junior Mustangs Football program. She promotes the program in the community, solicits sponsorships from local businesses and coordinates and trains parent volunteers. Linda has three children who attend Elk Grove Unified Schools - Aiden, a senior and Delaney, a sophomore - both at Monterey Trail High School, and Connor, an eighth grade student at Harris. |
Update Contact Info at Your Child's School Site
With the beginning of a new school year, the time has come to update your child's information at their school site. It is important that this information is up-to-date at the school site so you can be contacted in case of an emergency. Please update general information (address, phone numbers, emergency contacts, etc.) in your child's file if needed. In addition to the usual means of communicating with parents - phone calls, flyers sent home, etc. - the Elk Grove Unified School District now has the ability to communicate with parents and guardians through an email system that is integrated with our student information system. This system allows for increased district and school communication with parents about important information and events. It will also allow the district and schools to save money on paper and printing costs during these tough budgetary times. We understand that not all families have access to the Internet or email. Therefore, at this time, the emails will be an additional communication tool. Important information will continue to go home to parents in print format. If you have already submitted your email address to your child's school you should be receiving emails. You can make certain that the email comes through by adding the email address donotreply@egusd.net to your acceptable email addresses in your spam filter. If you would like to receive emails in the future, please contact your child's school to have your email address added to your student's registration information. Should you have questions about the email system, please contact communication@egusd.net. |
Katherine L. Albiani Middle School parent volunteer earns CSUS Community Partnership Award
Wendi Emmett, a parent volunteer at Katherine L. Albiani Middle School, has been selected to receive the California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) College of Education's Community Partnership Award. Emmett will receive her award during a banquet on September 23 at the CSUS Alumni Center. Emmett has been a dedicated volunteer at Albiani for the past six years. She has worked with the Sports on Campus (SOC) Program and the Parent Teacher Advisory Committee, as well as devoting countless hours of volunteer work and donating school supplies for the students and staff at Albiani. "In my many years of education I have worked with several parent volunteers," said Melanie Dopson, principal at Albiani. "In middle school, it can be tough to find consistency since most students and parents are only with us for two years. Wendi has been a member of the Albiani community for six years and plans to continue to donate her time to our school - even after her children have left. She is such a staple on campus that many of our staff members think she is an actual employee." The CSUS College of Education's Community Partnership Awards recognizes individuals, education professionals, businesses and organizations that have contributed their time, talents and resources to improving the state of local public education. Click here for more information about the CSUS College of Education's Community Partnership Awards. |
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Welcome to eguNews, an EGUSD email newsletter published every two weeks. If you have questions about eguNews, you can email communication@egusd.net or call (916) 686-7732.
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Florin High School teacher recognized as Sacramento County Teacher of the Year
 Congratulations to Robert Brewer, an EGUSD math and physics teacher at Florin High School, who has been named one of two Sacramento County Teachers of the Year for 2012! Both Brewer and Paul Cordero, a sixth grade teacher at Charles Mack Elementary School, were chosen as the Elk Grove Unified School District's 2011 Teachers of the Year in May. Brewer and Cordero were recognized along with 13 other Sacramento County teachers at the Sacramento County Office of Education's Annual Celebration of Educators on August 31, 2011. Brewer was presented with the Sacramento County Board of Education's Elinor L. Hickey Award of Merit - the highest honor bestowed by the Board - and a perpetual trophy from the Sacramento Scottish Rite Bodies of Freemasonry. Robert Brewer has been an employee of Elk Grove Unified for the past seven years. Brewer has spent his entire teaching career in Elk Grove Unified at Florin. Nicole Naditz, a French teacher from Bella Vista High School in the San Juan Unified School District, was also selected as Sacramento County Teacher of the Year for 2012. Both Brewer and Naditz are now eligible to advance to the statewide competition, where five teachers will be chosen as California Teachers of the Year. The five California Teachers of the Year are responsible for representing the teaching profession in a variety of settings and assisting their colleagues in numerous ways throughout the calendar year of 2012. Their names and that of the one individual of the group selected as the state's nominee to the National Teacher of the Year Program will be announced later in the fall by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. For more information about the Sacramento County Teacher of the Year program, click here. For more information about the California Teachers of the Year Program, click here.
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Former EGUSD Board President Jeanette Amavisca holds book bestowal at
Raymond Case Elementary School
On Thursday, September 15, the Raymond Case Elementary School quad provided the perfect setting for the book bestowal ceremony for former EGUSD Board President Jeanette Amavisca.
Since 2006, outgoing Board presidents from Elk Grove Unified School District's Board of Education have selected a school to "bestow" a book upon. This year, Amavisca chose to give books to more than one school, selecting all of the elementary schools in the area she represents - Raymond Case Elementary School, Maeola Beitzel Elementary School, Arthur C. Butler Elementary School, Roy Herburger Elementary School, Isabelle Jackson Elementary School and Mary Tsukamoto Elementary School.
The event began with welcoming remarks from EGUSD Superintendent Dr. Steven M. Ladd, followed by the Raymond Case Choir singing their renditions of America the Beautiful and One Light, One Sun. Following the choir performance, first grade students from Mary Scott and Katie Hubbard's classes sang "Dr. Seuss, We Love You." After the first grade students' performance, Amavisca spoke, signed Your Favorite Seuss - her book of choice and presented the books to each principal present at the ceremony. Abelardo Cordova, principal at Raymond Case wrapped up the ceremony by thanking Amavisca on behalf of the principals receiving books and presented her with a flower bouquet.
"We were very honored to host the Book Bestowal event for Ms. Amavisca," said Cordova. "I am certain that her book donation, Your Favorite Seuss, will delight and entertain students for many years to come here at Case as well as the other elementary schools receiving books today."
Your Favorite Seuss, by Dr. Seuss, features 12 of the most popular Dr. Seuss stories, including "The Cat in the Hat," "Green Eggs and Ham," "The Lorax," "Horton Hears A Who" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." The book also includes brief essays before each story, written by a fascinating cross section of people who offer personal, insightful or hilarious viewpoints about each story or Dr. Seuss in general.
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Teaching American History grant brings history to life and increases test scores
EGUSD students are making great improvements in history in part as a result of eight years of Teaching American History (TAH) grants through the U.S. Department of Education totaling almost $3 million. Since 2003, more than 250 teachers have benefitted from over 1,100 hours of professional development in making U.S. History come alive for students. "The TAH program is truly a unique professional development program," said Don Azevada, TAH project administrator and history/social science program specialist for the district. "The program has given EGUSD teachers the opportunity to meet scholars and historians from around the nation, partake in professional development provided by some of the top history organizations in the United States and travel to many historic venues. The program has been an immense asset in not only getting our teachers excited about history, but also gives them the tools to bring history to life and make it intriguing for their students." Through the grant teachers have been able to receive professional development in places where major U.S. historical events took place such as Williamsburg, Virginia and Birmingham, Alabama and at historic sites such as Ellis Island in New York and Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania. In these settings, teachers are trained on how to make history more relevant to their students, which results in improved engagement and higher test scores. "The main difference between TAH and other professional development programs is that TAH offers a series of projects to provide support for teachers rather than just a 'one and done' workshop approach," said Azevada. "The goal is focused on building content knowledge, not just exposing teachers to the content." Since 2006, the TAH work has been focused on middle and high school. Since that time, EGUSD's 8th, 10th and 11th grade students have made double digit gains in the areas of proficient and advanced on the history portion of the California Standards Tests. The number of 8th grade students in proficient and advanced has increased from 39 percent to 58 percent, 10th grade students rose from 36 percent to 52 percent and 11th grade students were up to 54 percent from 36 percent. The number of students scoring below basic and far below basic in history have decreased since 2006 in grades 8th, 10th and 11th. Students in below basic and far below basic dropped from 31 percent to 21 percent for 8th grade students, 38 percent to 23 percent for 10th grade students and 36 percent to 25 percent for 11th grade students. "Although the district is in its third and final year of our 2009 grant and the federal TAH budget has been drastically reduced, conversations have begun - and will continue - throughout the school year on how to sustain the positive environment TAH has created, even after the money has been exhausted," said Azevada. "The Social Science Steering Committee and TAH Advisory Committee will host most of these conversations and the district hopes to maintain the Historical Learning Community that has been created as a result of TAH, to continue to further the positive impact TAH has had on history education."
Click here for more information about Elk Grove Unified's Teaching American History grant.
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New agriculture education facility comes
to Pleasant Grove High School
The next time you're driving along School Loop Road to Pleasant Grove High School (PGHS), you just might notice a beautiful red structure in the fields to the north of the school. At first glance, you might think this structure belongs to a farmer, but this building is the newest part of the Pleasant Grove campus.
"The new facility was built to support the growing Agriculture Education program here at Pleasant Grove," said Izaskun Zallo, agriculture science department chair at Pleasant Grove High. "The agriculture education facility will give our students a chance to learn through 'hands-on,' real world experiences."
The $2.2 million facility, financed through a bond sale in 2008, features two lab science classrooms with an adjoining project room, an office and two restrooms; a large animal barn to house cattle, swine, sheep and goats; and a small animal barn to house rabbits and poultry. A greenhouse for plant projects will be completed by late November/early December.
Agriculture students had the opportunity to provide input into what the Agriculture Education facility would look like. After the general plans were finished, students were able to review the plans and give feedback.
"The addition of the agriculture education facility will allow our students to keep their agriculture projects at school," said Zallo. "The facility will also help us provide several opportunities for the general school population and the surrounding community. We hope to start a third grade field day where elementary school students can come out and learn more about the agriculture industry. We also hope to start selling flowers and fresh vegetables when we begin tending our garden."
The PGHS Aggie Backers (Ag Booster Club) will be conducting the "Harvesting our Future" Dinner/Auction which will be held on October 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bertoldi Ranch. Pleasant Grove FFA members will be conducting barn tours on October 15 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. To purchase tickets for the dinner, contact pghsaggiebackers@gmail.com.
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