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Honoring Our Volunteers
Stacey Ting of Laguna Creek High School 
Stacey Ting was recognized as an Education Partner at the April 10, 2012 meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education. Ting has been the president of Laguna Creek High School's Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO) since the 2007-2008 school year. Under her leadership, the PTSO has grown into a significant force on campus at Laguna Creek in the Elk Grove community. Ting is a true CEO and Laguna Creek benefits from her career experiences in the legal field. She ensures the organization follows the rules of the law and provides guidance in all things non-profit. Ting has demonstrated remarkable skills as a bridge-builder, bringing many different parents and guardians together - families who might not ordinarily meet and share stories and concerns about their children and their lives. Her skill in bridge-building was on display at the PTSO's annual fireworks booth in the parking lot near Chevy's and during the February crab feed at the Asian Sports Center in Laguna West. This was also demonstrated in the success of the Class of 2011's Sober Grad Night - an event where more than two-thirds of the class attended. More than 50 parents of students from this class assisted in the planning and chaperoning of the event. Under Ting's leadership, the PTSO has underwritten activities for several groups on campus, including the Infinite Motion Dance Company, Black Student Union, Key Club, French Club, Cardinal Aquatics and the International Baccalaureate program. In 2011, $4,000 was given to the Associated Student Body, which used the funds to purchase a state-of-the-art industrial grill that will serve Laguna Creek students for many years to come. Ting also led the charge in changing the name of the former LCHS Booster Club to LCHS PTSO, enabling the group to have a true change of focus. Changing the group's name to PTSO displayed that the group supports all students on campus - athletes, club members, scholars, artists and students looking for their voice via a new club or organization. Ting is married to Lawrence Ting. They have two children who are both graduates of Laguna Creek - Kelly, who graduated in 2007 and Laura, a 2008 graduate. |
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EGUSD Virtual Academy to offer Information Sessions for prospective students and parents
The Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) Virtual Academy will hold three information sessions for new parents and students to provide an overview of the district's K-8 virtual education program, meet staff and ask questions.
Enrollment for students for the 2012-2013 school year is now open. Registration materials can be obtained or submitted during information sessions or parents can visit http://blogs.egusd.net/egva/enroll/ to download materials.
Information sessions will be held at the following locations on these dates:
Tuesday, May 29
9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Ellen Feickert Elementary School
Computer Lab
9351 Feickert Drive
Elk Grove, CA 95624
Tuesday, June 5
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Edward Harris, Jr. Middle School
Computer Lab
8691 Power Inn Road
Elk Grove, CA 95624
Tuesday, July 10
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Edward Harris, Jr. Middle School
Computer Lab
8691 Power Inn Road
Elk Grove, CA 95624
The EGUSD Virtual Academy offers an innovative learning experience for the 21st century student. This accredited online academy allows students in kindergarten through 8th grade to experience teaching and learning from virtually anywhere a computer will take them. The curriculum is provided through a partnership with K12, a national online program. All courses are aligned to the State of California's standards and benchmarks. Classes span from core subjects to a wide variety of electives with a strong emphasis on building skills and critical thinking.
Each EGUSD Virtual Academy student has an individualized plan for his or her course of study. Student learning is guided by Elk Grove Unified teachers. Students have access to their teachers in person, online and by email. Parents play a critical role as learning coaches in the EGUSD Virtual Academy to support their students' learning.
The EGUSD Virtual Academy is part of a free public education system. The academy is open to students living in Sacramento, Amador, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Placer, San Joaquin, Solano, Sutter and Yolo counties.
For more information about the EGUSD Virtual Academy, contact (916) 399-9890, email egvirtual@egusd.net or visit http://blogs.egusd.net/egva/.
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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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Three EGUSD elementary schools earn California Distinguished School honors
Three Elk Grove Unified School District elementary schools - Cosumnes River, John Ehrhardt and Stone Lake - have been selected as 2012 California Distinguished Schools. They are among seven Sacramento County schools to be recognized for their innovative education programs that encourage students to learn and help close the achievement gap.
The 2012 California Distinguished Schools Program focuses on California's students and their entitlement to an equitable and rigorous education. The program identifies and honors those schools that have demonstrated educational excellence for all students and progress in narrowing the achievement gap.
To be invited to apply for Distinguished Schools honors, schools must meet a variety of eligibility criteria including designated federal and state accountability measures based on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Academic Performance Index requirements.
Once schools are deemed eligible, the CDE invites them to apply to be recognized as a California Distinguished School. The application process consists of a written application, which includes a comprehensive description of two of the school's signature practices, and a county-led site validation review process, which validates the implementation of those signature practices.
Schools earning the Distinguished School title agree to share their signature practices with other schools and serve as mentors to other educators who want to replicate their work. An updated searchable database of these Signature Practices will be available later this spring by the California Department of Education.
The California Distinguished Schools Program, now in its 26th year, identifies and honors public schools with the California Distinguished Schools Award. Participation in the program is voluntary. Elementary and secondary schools are recognized in alternate years. A total of 387 elementary schools were selected as California Distinguished Schools for 2012. This year's honorees will be recognized at an awards ceremony in the spring.
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Local educators attend
solar cases workshop
Since 2010, high school students at Cosumnes Oaks, Laguna Creek and Pleasant Grove have improved the lives of countless people in Uganda, Nigeria, Haiti, Thailand, India, Mexico and Rwanda - all through a small, solar-powered case that generates energy in remote places where it's needed most.
On Saturday, April 14, local educators, students and a team from Sierra Leone, had the chance to learn how their students could also assist internationally at a workshop detailing how to build solar cases to send to those in need of electricity throughout the world.
The workshop, sponsored by State Farm Insurance and the Sacramento County Office of Education, was taught by Cosumnes Oaks Architectural Design and Engineering Academy coordinator Tim McDougal and Laguna Creek Green Engineering Technology Academy (GETA) coordinator Eric Johnson. In addition to training others on how to build solar cases, the teachers also had the chance to present a batch of solar cases to the Mutana Women of Liberia.
"The goal of the workshop was to expand the construction of these small cases as a green energy educational tool and a much needed medical resource in development countries," said Johnson. "In regions where power is intermittent at best, these solar cases bring light and hope to people in third world nations where these resources are needed most. The cases are also a great learning platform for our students to learn the vocational skills associated with construction as well as the humanitarian needs of the solar cases ultimate end user."
Cosumnes Oaks was the first school to start the solar cases project in the 2008-2009 school year. McDougal got the idea when he learned about the work of WE CARE (Women's Emergency Communication and Reliable Electricity) Solar, a non-profit started by Dr. Laura Stachel and her husband, Hal Aronson. WE CARE Solar's goal is to reduce maternal mortality in developing regions by providing health workers with reliable lighting, mobile communication, and blood bank refrigeration using solar electricity.
Cosumnes Oaks' Architectural Design and Engineering Academy, Laguna Creek's GETA students and Pleasant Grove's CADD/COMM Academy have built solar cases to provide electricity in medical clinics throughout the world since 2010, sending more than 50 cases to more than 14 countries around the world.
"The solar case project is a win-win," said McDougal. "It blends the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines with a practical, life-changing tool."
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EGUSD students create videos chronicling the Japanese internment experience
By combining first-hand accounts of the internment camp experience for Japanese-Americans during World War II and the opportunity for students to hone their video production skills, the Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) and the Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium (SECC) are using the documentary "I'm American Too - A Story from behind the Fences" to encourage students to make connections between important historical events and members of their surrounding community.
The "I'm American Too" documentary features short snippets from a much more complete collection of "living voices" archived in the Elk Grove Unified School District's Time of Remembrance Oral Histories website. Click here to view EGUSD's Time of Remembrance website. The 16-minute documentary provides students with a very brief overview of the "relocation" of thousands of citizens of Japanese heritage from the West Coast following President Roosevelt's signing of Executive Order 9066. The documentary also comes with a lesson plan to help students further explore the Japanese internment experience.
"The 'I'm American Too'project also stems from the ongoing commitment of EGUSD to record and archive our local 'stories from behind the fences,'" said Gail Desler, technology integration specialist for the district. "As a district and as a community, we recognize how the internment of thousands of Japanese-American residents during the war years profoundly affected and forever changed the history of this once small farming community."
Through the "I'm American Too" project, EGUSD students have been able explore the internment experience through the first-hand accounts archived in the Time of Remembrance online collection. Click here to view the I'm An American Too Lesson Plan. As a part of the "I'm American Too" project, students collected and evaluated information about the Japanese internment from Internet-based oral histories, used primary sources to create a presentation reflective of the Japanese internment experience and evaluated, analyzed and reflected on the constitutional issues involved in the internment of Japanese Americans by making connections to current events.
Two EGUSD student-created video projects are currently on display on the SECC website. The Foulks Ranch Elementary School Video Club produced "A Time of Fear: The Japanese Interment" when their teacher told his students about a friend who had lived through the Japanese internment camps. "The Japanese Internment," a student-produced video Franklin High School students Trevor Morisawa and Matthew Mesfin, tells the story of relatives for both sides of Morisawa's family who were interned at the Tule Lake Internment Camp during World War II. Morisawa's great-grandmother, Yoshiko Morisawa, was interned while she was just beginning high school, which created an interesting parallel to the current age of the video producers in the class. Click here to view the EGUSD student-made videos.
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Jessie Baker School invites the community to take a "Walk in Our Shoes"
Jessie Baker School will hold their 1st Annual "Walk In Our Shoes" 1.5 mile walk to raise funds for the purchase of equipment and programs to inspire an active lifestyle for Jessie Baker students on Saturday, April 28, 2012.
Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by opening ceremonies at 10:30 a.m. The walk will start at 11 a.m. and the event will conclude with closing ceremonies at 12 p.m.
The "Walk In Our Shoes" event, sponsored by PRIDE Industries, encourages both individuals and teams to participate. Participants can also collect donations to help raise funds to build a rubberized playground and shade canopy for Jessie Baker School students. The cost is $20 per walker and includes a t-shirt. For teams with 25 walkers or more, the registration fee is $15 per person. For more information about the "Walk in Our Shoes" event, contact jbpto1@gmail.com. To donate to the walk or to register, visit http://walkinourshoes.eventbrite.com/?ref=ecount.
About Jessie Baker School
Jessie Baker School serves approximately 158 students ages 3 to 22 with severe disabilities. The school was the first public school in California of its kind. The school provides programs in a variety of areas for students, including: music and movement; reading instruction; California mathematics and science instruction; healthy habits and vocational training.
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