Tuesday, June 8, 2021

MEDIA ADVISORY: San Diego Unified School District

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MEDIA ADVISORY
San Diego Unified School District is Proud to Congratulate the Class of 2021
San Diego Padres, Petco Park to Host High School Commencement Ceremonies

June 8, 2021

WHAT: San Diego Unified School District graduation ceremonies

WHEN: Thursday, June 10, through Monday, June 14

WHERE: Petco Park

VIDEO: The Padres will provide video highlights to media outlets Thursday and Friday

PHOTOS: For photographs, contact Roger Wilson of the San Diego Union-Tribune Photo Desk about the media pool at roger.wilson@sduniontribune.com<mailto:roger.wilson@sduniontribune.com> or (424) 405-1078

BACKGROUND: The class of 2021 has faced extraordinary challenges due to the pandemic. Now it's time to celebrate the achievements of San Diego Unified's graduating seniors with a special series of commencement ceremonies hosted by the San Diego Padres and Petco Park.

The in-person graduation ceremonies will allow students and families to mark this milestone together, while following social-distancing protocols, at the celebrated home of the Padres.

The graduation stage will be set behind the pitcher's mound, and graduates will be seated in the field-level stands behind home plate. Graduates will enter the field near third base, cross the stage and then exit toward first base. The ceremony will be shown on the stadium's 7,564 square-foot scoreboard and live-streamed.

High schools have provided each graduate with four tickets to Petco Park ceremonies. For those not able to attend, the link to watch Petco ceremonies live will be available here. <https://vimeo.com/event/982528/aadbbfc61c>

The San Diego Padres will capture video highlights of the graduations taking place Thursday and Friday (:45-1:30) and will make the footage available to the media.

Members of the Board of Education and district representatives will lead the ceremonial acceptance of the graduating class and presentation of high school diplomas for the following schools at Petco Park under the following schedule:

Thursday, June 10
Madison High School, 8 to 9:30 a.m.
School of Creative and Performing Arts, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Kearny Complex, 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Garfield High School, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Friday, June 11
Mission Bay High School, 8 to 9:30 a.m.
La Jolla High School, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Lincoln High School, 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Hoover High School, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 12
Clairemont High School, 8 to 9:30 a.m.
Pt. Loma High School, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
University City High School, 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Mira Mesa High School, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 13
Morse High School, 8 to 9:30 a.m.
Scripps Ranch High School, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Henry High School, 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Monday, June 14
Twain High School, 8 to 9:30 a.m.
Canyon Hills High School (formerly Serra High School), 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Crawford High School, 3 to 4:30 p.m.
San Diego Complex, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Murad, Public Information Coordinator, (619) 925-4790
###
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Friday, June 4, 2021

Post Notices and Agendas

PLEASE NOTE:

 

·        Notice of Change of Meeting Format and Closed Session: Board of Education – Tuesday, June 8, 2021, Zoom Platform
Open and Closed Session Meeting Information: https://sandiegounified.org/about/board_of_education/meeting_information

o   3:30 p.m. Closed Session

o   5:00 p.m. Regular Meeting

 

·        Closed Session Agenda: Board of Education— Tuesday, June 8, 2021, 3:30 p.m., Zoom Teleconference
Open and Closed Session Meeting Information: https://sandiegounified.org/about/board_of_education/meeting_information

o   Closed Session Public Testimony: https://bit.ly/3c3aaf5      

 

·        Board Meeting Agenda: Board of Education – Tuesday, June 8, 2021, 5:00 p.m., Zoom Webinar
BoardDocs Agenda Link: http://go.boarddocs.com/ca/sandi/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BR9U4Q76C07E        

o   Link to YouTube Livestream: https://sandiegounified.org/about/board_of_education   

o   Open Session Public Testimony: https://sandiegounified.org/about/board_of_education/public_testimony_request             

·        Notice of Ad Hoc Committee Meeting: Ad Hoc Committee of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for Special Education – Monday, June 7, 2021, 6:30 p.m., Zoom Webinar
Committee Meeting Information: https://www.sandiegounified.org/about/board_of_education/committees/CAC/2020_21_executive_meeting_schedule_and_information   

 

·        Committee Meeting Agenda: Ad Hoc Committee of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for Special Education – Monday, June 7, 2021, 6:30 p.m., Zoom Webinar
BoardDocs Agenda Link: http://go.boarddocs.com/ca/sandi/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=C3CTDX76EF85      

o   Zoom Webinar Link: https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/j/86541806191   
Public Testimony: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_80_XCv3VlPhbU_tAQKU7BQEfJ5Lws03BzAA2lawdiLawVA/viewform         

 

·        Notice of Change Committee Meeting Format: Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for Special Education – Thursday, June 10, 2021, 7:00 p.m., Zoom Webinar
Committee Meeting Information: https://www.sandiegounified.org/about/board_of_education/committees/CAC/2020-21_general_meeting_schedule_and_information   

 

·        Committee Meeting Agenda: Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for Special Education – Thursday, June 10, 2021, 7:00 p.m., Zoom Webinar
BoardDocs Agenda Link: http://go.boarddocs.com/ca/sandi/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=C3CTF9770CB8      

o   Zoom Webinar Link: https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/j/83571423380   
Public Testimony: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNke0RGogiejXccgjsrvwI0CFb9oyHCem1FWKPoySZgaYoQg/viewform             

·        Notice of Change Committee Meeting Format: District Advisory Council (DAC) for Compensatory Education – Wednesday, June 9, 2021, 6:30 p.m., Zoom Teleconference
Committee Meeting Information: https://www.sandiegounified.org/about/board_of_education/committees/DAC/2020-21_general_meeting_schedule_and_information   

 

·        Committee Meeting Agenda: District Advisory Council (DAC) for Compensatory Education – Wednesday, June 9, 2021, 6:30 p.m., Zoom Teleconference
BoardDocs Agenda Link: http://go.boarddocs.com/ca/sandi/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=C3CTME774598       

o   Zoom Meeting Link: https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/j/91328579213
Meeting ID: 913 2857 9213
Public Testimony: DAC.sdusd@gmail.com               

·        Committee Meeting Agenda: Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee for Racial Justice and Equality – Wednesday, June 9, 2021, 5:00 p.m., Zoom Teleconference
BoardDocs Agenda Link:  http://go.boarddocs.com/ca/sandi/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=C3MQY9636746    

o   Zoom Webinar Link: https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/j/85963897722
Meeting ID: 859 6389 7722
Dial by your location
        +1 669 219 2599 US (San Jose)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Find your local number: https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/u/kdTVbrBPtD
Public Testimony: rjeicoc@sandi.net

·        Notice of Public Hearing: SELPA Annual Service and Budget Plans for the 2021-22 School Year—Tuesday, June 22, 2021, 5:00 pm
Open and Closed Session Meeting Information: https://sandiegounified.org/about/board_of_education/meeting_information     

o   2021-22 SELPA Notice of Public Hearing: https://sandiegounified.org/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=34048558

 

Please forward to staff and as appropriate, print agenda and post in a prominent, publicly accessible location at your site.

Additionally, please refer to the below links for upcoming meetings, agendas, and minutes of the board advisory committees:

 Thank you.

 

Martha Corrales

Confidential Admin Assistant II

Board Services Office, San Diego Unified School District

619-725-5551

mcorrales@sandi.net

 

Do the best you can until you know better.  Then when you know better, do better.  -Maya Angelou

 

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Thursday, June 3, 2021

PRESS RELEASE: Open Letter to Councilperson Montgomery-Steppe

PRESS RELEASE

 

June 3, 2021

 

Monica Montgomery-Steppe

Councilmember, Fourth District

City of San Diego

202 C Street, 10th Floor

San Diego, CA 92101

 

Ms. Montgomery-Steppe:

 

A month ago, students from Lincoln High School were insulted, taunted and compared to convicts. That happened at an elite prep school in a wealthy suburb. Treating our students with that type of disrespect was unacceptable then, and it is unacceptable now, even though now the insults and abuse are coming from someone who is paid to represent our community. Your attack on our students and Lincoln High School is beneath the dignity of your office. You owe those students and our community an apology.

 

I will also expect an apology for your decision to repeat lies in the media that have been repeatedly shown to be untrue. You wrote, “Findings show that school leaders did not spend funding as authorized by the Lincoln School Site Council, which is required by law.” In fact, the findings showed the opposite.

 

The law firm of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo conducted an independent investigation which revealed no missing or misuse of funds. The report was completed on July 15, 2020. The summary pages are here. They found, “The weight of the evidence did not support that any funds that were allocated to Lincoln were spent on another SDUSD school or were misappropriated by any individual for personal financial gain.”

 

It is shocking that you, a former practicing attorney, would send information to the media that you either know or should have known is not true. For you to double down on those untruths and allege you have knowledge of fraud and “misappropriation of funds” is inexcusable.

 

You should also know better than to request private personnel information related to employees of the district. I find it incredibly unprofessional to demand information on the transfer of an employee. The rationale for our decisions was shared with the Lincoln community, as you would have known had you contacted the school district before launching an uninformed assault in the media.

 

A recent study by the Learning Policy Institute found students of color in San Diego Unified schools academically outperform their peers statewide. A companion study by UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools found this success is not accidental, rather it is the result of intentional efforts to provide added counselors and other supports to high needs school communities.

 

Significantly, the increase in African American student achievement has come at the same time as San Diego Unified has raised its academic standards. San Diego Unified was one of the first urban districts in the state to require students to graduate with enough credits to attend California’s outstanding public universities. College readiness for African American students has increased by 50 percent at San Diego Unified since the start of those improvements.

 

Should you decide to educate yourself appropriately on Lincoln’s status, here is what you will find:

 

1.     The current leadership under Principal Brown is outstanding. Despite the pandemic, Lincoln High School had a record number of early graduates this year. Fact: This year, a record 130 students graduated early, up from 37 students in 2020, and 59 in 2019.

 

2.     Lincoln High School has made steady progress under the leadership of Principal Brown. The percentage of African American students prepared for college and career increased by 19.9 percent last year to 43.2 percent according to the California Department of Education College Career Indicator. (Source: https://www6.cde.ca.gov/californiamodel/ccireport?&year=2020&cdcode=&scode=0114025&reporttype=sgroups)

 

3.     Under Principal Brown, the over-disciplining of students at Lincoln has declined. Year over year suspension rates dropped from 8 percent of students to just 2.2 percent, and for African Americans, it dropped from 17 percent last year to just 2.8 percent, as a result of Principal Brown’s student-centered leadership.

 

4.     To build on this progress, Principal Brown has mobilized the community through a series of conversations on the future direction of the school. In February of this year, Lincoln held four parent forums on college and career pathways.

 

5.     The foundation of the plan for the future is a laser-like focus on getting new students up to grade level standards upon their arrival in 9th grade. The plan created by Principal Brown calls for a partner school leader to focus solely on those students, as well as additional counselors and support services for those students.

 

6.     After students are prepared for their future, the upper grades at Lincoln will be transformed into a career academy with outstanding training and services provided for all students. This career pathway system will offer multiple opportunities. Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yBIKWxrbWQyjjJuTEH5imBtqSKMeRf-j/view  

 

7.     San Diego Unified maintains an equity based funding model that has always benefitted the students at Lincoln with additional resources. The district doubles, sometimes triples, the funding it receives from the state for each Lincoln student, meaning Lincoln is the only high school with three vice principals and five counselors.

 

All of the above, along with every statistic you have requested are available on our website and on the state’s website, which again is information you would have received had you contacted the district rather than launching your uniformed attack. Despite the nearly $2 million in taxpayer money you receive to operate your office, you were apparently unable to locate the following links:

 

Student outcomes

·       Average attendance rate: https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/DQCensus/AttAbsByRsn.aspx?agglevel=School&cds=37683380114025&year=2018-19

·       Graduation rate: https://www.caschooldashboard.org/reports/37683380114025/2019#graduation-rate-card

·       Reading and math rates: https://caaspp-elpac.cde.ca.gov/caaspp/DashViewReport?ps=true&lstTestYear=2019&lstTestType=B&lstGroup=1&lstSubGroup=1&lstGrade=13&lstSchoolType=A&lstCounty=37&lstDistrict=68338-000&lstSchool=0114025

 

Agenda for Lincoln’s future, including many current and potential partners from inside and outside the school: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yBIKWxrbWQyjjJuTEH5imBtqSKMeRf-j/view

 

Specific Vision 2020 outcomes for Lincoln

·       Schools as neighborhood learning centers: Community schools plan

·       Ensure effective teaching in the classroom: District initiative and Learning Policy Institute Analysis

·       Engage parents and community volunteers in the educational process / Facilitate communication and support: Outlined above and here.

 

Other efforts to support students

·       Black Youth Call To Action: Goals included in site plan

·       Freedom Summer: Commitments

·       Added Lincoln support for students' social, emotional, and academic needs: http://transformschools.ucla.edu/case-study-san-diego-unified-school-district/

 

Finally, we will not respond to your suggestion that we hold a meeting to “potentially choose the next principal of LHS,” as we find the quality of the current leader to be exceptional.

 

However, if you would like to work together to solve the issues you were elected to address, please reschedule the meeting you cancelled precipitously today. We would especially like to highlight the city’s lack of progress on two issues of particular concern to our students.

 

Last year, in the middle of the pandemic, San Diego Unified distributed more than 80,000 Chromebooks to help student learning continue. We were also forced to distribute WiFi hotspots due to the city’s lack of progress in closing the digital divide, which threatens to leave the community of Southeast San Diego behind. (Link: https://www.fair5g.org/system/files/san_diego_5g_built_wrong.pdf)

 

Equally, we recently approved $30 million in funding for summer programs for our students, including a summer jobs and internship program. We are unaware of a similar commitment on the part of your office to provide significant career opportunities for the youth of our community.

 

We look forward to your response and remain ready to meet should your schedule allow.

 

Sincerely,
 


Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, Ph.D

Board of Education Vice President, District E

San Diego Unified School District

 

CONTACT: Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, Vice President, San Diego Unified School District Board of Education, District E, swhitehurst-payne@sandi.net.

 

Posted by at

NEWS RELEASE: San Diego Unified School District

Please see attached news release
Posted by at

MEDIA ADVISORY - TOMORROW: Encanto Community, District and City Leaders to Celebrate New School and Community Field at Horton Elementary

 

June 3, 2021

 

MEDIA ADVISORY

 

Encanto Community, District and City Leaders to Celebrate New School and Community Field at Horton Elementary

 

WHAT:   

Board of Education Vice President Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne will join City of San Diego Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe and the Encanto community in celebrating a new joint-use field at Horton Elementary School.

 

WHEN:   

Friday, June 4, 2021

1-2 p.m.

 

WHERE:  

Horton Elementary School

5050 Guymon St, San Diego, CA 92102

 

VISUALS:

1- 1:20 p.m. - Speakers

1:20- 1:30 p.m. - Countdown and Ribbon-Cutting 1:30- 1:40 p.m. - Student Celebratory Run

1:40- 2 p.m. - Photo Opps, Media Interviews

Drone Video and Stills of the Horton Elementary Joint-Use Field

Previous Photo of the Horton Elementary Joint-Use Field Groundbreaking

 

GUEST INTERVIEWS:

Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, Board of Education Vice President, San Diego Unified

Monica Montgomery Steppe, District 4 Councilmember, City of San Diego

Lee Dulgeroff, Chief Facilities Planning and Construction Officer, San Diego Unified

Danielle Garegnani, Principal, Horton Elementary School

Staci Dent, Former Principal of Horton Elementary School

Ardelle Matthews, Chair, Chollas View Community Council

 

PROJECT OVERVIEW:

The Horton Elementary joint-use park includes a grass playfield, a walking/running path, a drinking fountain, security gates and fencing. Hardcourts and a play structure are included in the joint-use area. Dedicated parking is provided in the existing parking lot.

 

A space for community art is also integrated into the project. The Urban Collaborative Project, a local effort to beautify urban communities, painted the

exterior ramp facing the community with a beautiful mural.

 

BACKGROUND:

Local Bond Propositions

San Diego Unified’s capital projects are funded by San Diego Unified School District’s Propositions S, Z and Measure YY, which are local bond measures approved by San Diego voters to repair, renovate and revitalize neighborhood schools. The City of San Diego contributes some design and construction funds and will operate and maintain the joint-use facilities.

 

Play All Day Parks Program

 

As part of the Play All Day partnership with the City of San Diego, the joint-use field will be accessible to the community as a local park after school hours and during school breaks. You can read more about the initiative here.

 

Community Advocates Dr. Bob Matthews and Ardelle Matthews

A well-respected leader in the Chollas View community, Dr. Bob Matthews used his education, leadership and influence to better the community. A resident of Chollas View, Matthews and his wife, Ardelle Matthews, worked for San Diego Unified; Dr. Matthews as the Horton Elementary principal, and Mrs. Matthews as a school teacher for O’Farrell School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), now known as SCPA.

 

Mrs. Matthews and other active community members supported the Horton Elementary Joint-Use field project and have worked alongside city and district leaders for it to come to fruition. Mrs. Matthews now leads the Chollas View Community Council for the City of San Diego’s Council District 4, in which Horton Elementary is situated. The council played a role in moving the field forward.

 

While Mr. Matthews recently passed away, Mrs. Matthews will attend and speak at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on behalf of the community and Mr. Matthews.

 

RELATED LINKS:

Play All Day Parks Program

Union-Tribune: Bob Matthews, a lifelong educator, civil rights activist and icon in San Diego, dies at 90

Urban Collaborative Project

 

PARKING:

 

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jamie Ries, San Diego Unified Facilities Communication Liaison 619-855-9283; jries@sandi.net.

Tim Graham, City of San Diego Communications, 619-253-9197,TGraham@sandiego.gov.

 

#####

 

 

 

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Tuesday, June 1, 2021

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