After gaining 27 points on California's Academic Performance Index, James Rutter Middle School Principal Yuri Penermon fulfilled a promise he made to his students last year by spending 24 hours on the roof of his school starting at 8 a.m. on Monday, October 15. He descended from the roof at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, October 16.

Rutter students also made gains in several subgroup categories, including African-Americans, Asians, Hispanic or Latino, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, White, students of two or more races, socioeconomically disadvantaged, English Learners and students with disabilities.

"The students and families in our community have so many struggles and challenges, despite all of that, our students have proven they care about their education - their future - and are willing to put the time and effort in to prove that," Penermon said. "Spending a little of my own time up on the roof of James Rutter Middle School is a small token of my appreciation of the efforts and work of my students, their families and my staff for the time and efforts in helping our school be successful."

Penermon thoroughly appreciated the support he received in both the planning and execution of his time spent on the roof.

It was challenging and took a lot of planning to spend 24 hours on the roof of Rutter," Penermon said.  "However, it was well worth the look of pride and confidence I saw in the eyes of my students, staff, and community. I felt the support of the entire James Rutter community, Florin region, and Elk Grove Unified School District with me during those 24 hours so I never felt alone."

EGUSD launches Kindergarten/TK Attendance Program

On November 1, the Elk Grove Unified School District will launch the Kindergarten/Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Attendance Program, a supplemental program to the K-12 No Excuses - Go to School Attendance Campaign.  This new program was created to educate parents and students about the importance of consistent school attendance at the kindergarten level.  Recent studies have shown that poor attendance at the kindergarten and first grade levels can predict poor academic performance by fifth grade. 

Overall, EGUSD obtained a high attendance rate at 96.27 percent for the 2011/2012 school year. However, there is room for improvement at the kindergarten level.  In EGUSD, nearly a third of kindergarten students miss 10 or more days of school each year and about 13 percent of kindergarten students miss 18 or more days of school. 

Building a solid educational foundation is the cornerstone to a child's future educational development and that foundation begins in kindergarten. Studies have shown that students who attend school on a regular basis have shown improved academic skills as well as greater social and emotional growth. Each day of kindergarten adds another building block to a child's educational foundation. Missing just one day of kindergarten can mean:

• Missing key concepts - such as the letter "w" or the number "1."
• Missing opportunities for social and emotional growth.
• Falling behind on assignments, making it harder for your student to catch up.
• Poor academic performance in the future. For example, excessive absences in kindergarten and first grade can predict poor academic performance in fifth grade.

For the first time, the Kindergarten/TK Attendance Program will offer incentives for both students AND their parents. 

Student incentives can include special classroom duties, such as being the class helper for a day (holding the door open, passing out/collecting papers, assisting in hand washing duties, etc.), special classroom rewards (sitting next to the teacher, having their own solo special show n tell, etc.) and incentive certificates (John's Incredible Pizza and Chuck E Cheese's rewards coupons). 

Parent incentives can include certificate recognition (give out certificates to parents when students reach certain milestones with attendance - i.e. month, trimester, year), teacher weekly/monthly recognition (list parents and students with perfect attendance in weekly/monthly newsletters) and "crown a parent" (crown parents each month of trimester at a ceremony for perfect attendance). 

KidTribe "Hoop-it-Up" assemblies delight EGUSD elementary school students    

EGUSD elementary school students throughout the district had a chance to "Hoop It Up" with the members of KidTribe at assemblies featuring hula hooping at elementary schools throughout October.

The assemblies, presented by the Elk Grove Unified School District's Food and Nutrition Services Department through funding from the Network for a Healthy California, are energetic "community-fitness concerts" that activate heart rates and inspire children to exercise. Students at Robert J. Fite, Florin, Franklin, Roy Herburger, Isabelle Jackson, Samuel Kennedy, Prairie, Sierra Enterprise, Mary Tsukamoto and Irene B. West elementary schools had the opportunity to participate in the KidTribe assemblies.

"Hoop-A-Pa-Loo-Za is a great activity for the students and coincides well with our district wellness policy," said Anne Gaffney, a nutrition specialist for the district. "This event is the perfect opportunity to reinforce healthy eating and exercise habits. The students love KidTribe. They have a great time at the assemblies and many of them hula hoop at recess for weeks afterward."

During the assembly, KidTribe engaged students in Taste Bud's nutrition reinforcement raps and Stretch-A-Rama's tools for a flexible body which engaged students in making healthy food and physical activity choices. Nicknamed "the X-Games of hula hooping," Miss Kellee and the KidTribe Crew transformed students into Hooper-Stars as they pumped the audience up, taught gravity defying hip-hop-hoop moves and led everyone in a free-style hooptastic party while integrating positive messages of self-esteem, empowering choices, peer acceptance and non-violence.