Dear MTUESD Community,
We received wonderful news last week that the K-16 Sierra Grant was funded through Columbia Community College. This is a $200,000 grant that we wrote with the idea of growing career opportunities for students to participate in a peer tutor program. This allows us to provide an intervention teacher at Mark Twain, who will work with the high school to develop a peer tutor core. We are writing a similar grant for the community schools funding to support the Copper program through a parent volunteer core. These funds are highly restricted, and you have to write them in a way that makes you fundable. We get to be pretty creative how we do that, but we don't have flexibility within the grant parameters. We are delighted to add this funding to our budget, even if it will expire in 18 months.
It was great to see so many families out at the Badger Games from both sites. We greatly appreciate the staff participation from both sites in making this such a wonderful event for students and families. Under the leadership of Casy Barnett, the group raised almost $2,400.
Saturday night there was a great turnout in Angels Camp for the parade. It was so fun to see so many of our students on floats representing businesses and AMA. It was a very festive event.
Our ELAC group held their Christmas party on Tuesday. Thank you to the families for that effort, and we have the magical crafts nights coming up at both sites on Friday night. These beloved traditions and the memories they create will stay with the student their whole lifetime.
We have a public hearing on the proposed parcel tax measure at the board meeting on December 17. If I had my way, I would rename it from Parcel Tax to Opportunity Fee! The return to open session is at 5:30. If you have an opinion on this potential revenue stream, please feel free to attend. It's a hard decision because it costs money to run the ballot measure and it takes a 2/3 vote of people that vote to pass it. But if it passed, it would provide some stability and funding for the next four years, which we need as we look at declining enrollment. Always good to explore all opportunities. That evening, we will also celebrate Diane Bateman’s dedicated service to the community as she retires from the MTUESD board.
Please note that our school site is closed from December 21 and returning on January 6, 2025. We hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday. I very much encourage you to please make sure your students are doing some reading over that break time. We are also doing some work at the district office at that time, so if you need something, call my cell at 650-996-3290.
We may have an opening in our district office for a part-time administrative assistant as beloved member takes on a new opportunity in the district. This is a great position for someone with strong administrative skills that wants to work a schedule similar to our students. Here is the link to the posting. Admin Assistant If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Stewart at lstewart@mtwain.k12.ca.us. We also continue to have openings for bus drivers and para educators and subs.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend ahead and enjoy all the magic of this holiday season. I am grateful for your kindness and partnership.
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson, Superintendent
650-996-3290