EGUSD awaits the September 2015 opening of its first contemporary two-story elementary school, Marion Mix Elementary School, located on Franklin Boulevard just north of Laguna Park Drive. Ms. Shelly Hughes-Clark will be the new school principal and proud to be at the 40^th elementary school in the District stating, "Marion Mix is a beautiful and unique type of campus designed to encourage a high performance atmosphere with the library centrally located at the heart of the main building."

Marion Mix was built to relieve overcrowding at nearby schools. The school site footprint, while compact, is more efficient than most so nothing in terms of classroom space was taken away and students will have fields to play on and plenty of green space to enjoy. Parents and visitors will also have ample parking and ease of use for student drop-off and pick-up. The school's site planning team took important factors into consideration such as accessibility, aesthetics, cost-effectiveness, functionality, productivity, safety and security, and sustainability as these are what today's parents and school officials demand. "As we begin to hire for Marion Mix, I'm very optimistic that outstanding teachers and support staff will be selected and the combination of great staff in great facilities is what makes our programs successful," Superintendent Chris Hoffman pointed out.

The school is up to date with many bells and whistles and is technologically fully integrated. All of the elementary classrooms, the library, learning lab, computer room, and school offices will be in the main building under one roof making the site more secure and more energy efficient. The Kindergarten and multi-purpose room are housed separately, but because of the smart planning that went into the design and construction of Marion Mix, the smaller grounds made purchasing the land and future maintenance much more cost-effective. "This innovative project establishes an exciting time for our District as we look to apply similar modern yet cost effective and sustainable design and construction methods to meet all of our future needs," said Rob Pierce, Associate Superintendent of EGUSD Facilities.

Building experts point to the physical organization schools require to provide easy navigation to bolster student confidence without sacrificing security and safety. Providing a healthful and stimulating environment in which to learn is something all kids need and when a school is visually, acoustically, and thermally comfortable with excellent indoor air quality, it's an excellent learning environment. Marion Mix is a model school building that promotes sustainability and community engagement whereby the nature of the school itself is a teaching tool for the surrounding area.

Marion Mix's current enrollment is exceeding expectations with 625 students currently enrolled and capacity is at about 850 students. The school will open this fall on a traditional calendar and Before and After School daycare is expected to be provided. "Marion Mix is a beautiful educational campus with the right climate for learning and an innovative design that our students will be excited about," said Donna Cherry, Associate Superintendent of Elementary Education. "Ms. Marion Smith-Mix herself was an innovative and independent thinker who wanted to succeed in medicine despite the obstacles she faced as a woman in the early 1900's. This school represents a legacy of learning, achievement, and extraordinary perseverance that Ms. Mix embodied. We hope to make her proud."

The greater Elk Grove and South Sacramento communities are invited to spend a night at the theater as Elk Grove Unified high schools present their spring musical productions.  Musicals will be presented by the following schools:

For incoming high school students and parents, the opportunity to "map your future" presented itself on January 27 at Elk Grove Unified School District's Map Your Future K-12 Career Pathway Exposition.  Approximately 2,000 visitors attended the event to explore the numerous career academies and pathways offered by high schools at EGUSD.

At the event, 13 of California's industry sectors were represented and many academies and pathways showcased hands-on activities. Notable displays included microscope sample viewings and activities to help visitors make healthy meal choices in the health science and medical technologies sector, live food demonstrations and a "guess the vegetable" activity in the hospitality and tourism sector, and a "create a marshmallow snowman" in the education, child development, and family services sector.  The GETA Academy from Laguna Creek High School displayed their solar golf cart, the STEM Academy at Franklin High School along with IDEA at Pleasant Groves staged a robot battle, and Ag Tech at Florin High School taught young attendees how to make flower corsages at their table.

"I took two of my younger boys and they absolutely enjoyed it and learned a lot," said Sonia Ortiz-Mercado, a parent with two sons in Elk Grove Unified.  "One of my sons is still talking about the hair under the microscope and genetic samples he got to see from Sheldon's Biotech Academy. They both were very impressed with what they learned from the engineering, design and construction academy exhibits, as well as the employers - like the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers."

Christina Penna, Associate Superintendent of Secondary Education, said that the event "provided an excellent opportunity for schools to showcase their exceptional CTE [Career Technical Education] programs and to encourage students to begin considering the many career options ahead."

Measles poses a serious health threat, but Kaiser Permanente providers can help people stay healthy by encouraging full vaccination.

Interview by Elizabeth Schainbaum

Fifteen years ago, the United States declared victory over measles, and a whole generation has rarely had to think about the highly contagious, deadly disease since then.

But waning vaccination rates and measles outbreaks in many other parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, and Asia, have provided a gateway for measles to be widespread again in this country.

And now Americans are thinking-and worrying- about measles because of a mid-December outbreak at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park that shows no signs of slowing down.

That outbreak is largely responsible for 88 measles cases in California and 33 in in 17 other states and Washington D.C. from Jan. 1 to Feb. 6.  In the first five weeks of the year, there have been more cases than what's been typical for a whole year.

To better understand the outbreak and how Kaiser Permanente is responding to it, we spoke to infectious disease specialist Stephen Parodi, MD, medical director of regional hospital operations for Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Tell us about the measles and the vaccine.

Measles spreads through the air, making the disease very contagious. Nine of 10 exposed people who do not have immunity will get it. It's a serious illness that caused 500 deaths a year before the vaccine was available. It can also lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis (brain inflammation that can lead to swelling), and hearing loss.

The good news is that we have a highly effective vaccine, and it's the best protection against measles. It's given in two doses:  The first one is when a child turns 1, and the second one is before kindergarten, between the ages of 4 and 6. When both are given, it's 97 percent effective-one of the most effective vaccines-and it lasts a lifetime.

What we've seen with this outbreak is that mostly unvaccinated people are getting measles. When measles appeared previously, it was because it was imported from someone who was overseas. Now, people are getting it from their own communities because there are areas where there is not widespread immunity.

What's been the reaction among members during this recent outbreak?

There's been greater interest in vaccinations. Some people want to move up their vaccination schedules. Right now, we are not recommending that we widely administer the second dose earlier. The first dose is 93 percent effective.

People are asking about vaccinating babies. For the first six months, babies are protected by their vaccinated mothers' antibodies.  If we give the vaccine to children younger than 12 months, it doesn't have a lasting effect. We are advising parents of children who are too young to be vaccinated to avoid areas of known transmissions and crowds as much as possible, mainly because of the way it's transmitted.

How do we get this outbreak under control?

The key to slowing this outbreak or preventing others is to have widespread vaccination among children. We need a vaccination rate of 95 percent to keep communities safe.

When most people in your neighborhood are vaccinated, the disease can't spread well from person to person. This is called herd immunity.  If rates drop below that threshold, then measles can cause illness in unvaccinated or non-immune people of all ages.  Very young children are especially susceptible and can become very sick or even die from the disease.

During the last week in January, we called parents of children, 1 to 18 years old, who have not received a measles vaccination to encourage them to get vaccinated.  These calls were also placed in Spanish.

We are also advising adults who may have had only one dose to get a blood test to see if they are immune. If they are not immune, we recommend a second dose.

What's the message for people who don't want to vaccinate?

Although we haven't seen much of the measles in the past two decades, the risk still exists, especially as widespread immunity declines. It's a serious, highly contagious disease that can cause significant lifelong consequences. One person can easily expose 100 others, creating a huge public health burden.

We can easily prevent measles with a safe, effective vaccine. Any claims of the vaccine leading to autism have been widely discredited.  The most common side effect from the vaccine is a sore arm, and that pales in comparison to complications from measles.

By getting your children vaccinated, you protect not only your family, but also vulnerable populations who can't get vaccinated.

We can eliminate measles. We've done it as a nation once, and we can do it again.

 Visit Kaiser Permanente for more health tips.