Dear MTUESD Families,
I hope you enjoyed your three-day weekend. Hopefully, we get a little rain here soon. I am getting a little worried here about this dry weather.
Lots going on, so I will start with the Copperopolis gym. The good news is they found those giant bolts on the 20 inch off-set. We had a contractor that specializes in the epoxy injection, take a look on Wednesday about the retrofit plan and it will include injecting epoxy into the glulams and exterior bracing on the arches. We also have to patch the floor. I’ve been asked about floor replacement, but that is not in the budget. We will make it safe for kids. I appreciate your patience. I am so tired of the answer, THIS IS THE WAY WE ALWAYS DO IT. If we accepted that answer, a ceiling could have fallen on kids. THAT IS NOT THE WAY WE DO IT. Thank you for your grace as we figured it out and mitigated the hazard. I am awaiting his bid and schedule, and the local contractor DJ Bridges will follow right behind him to do the bracing and floor repair and remove the posts. Time frames will be distributed once we know.
The Mark Twain track is well underway. This is again just for safety mitigation. Do I wish I could put in a $3 million track and field? Of course I do. The reality is given our money structure that is not going to happen, but the compacted composite surface will be safe for kids to run and train.
Measure A signs will soon be available. I paid for these personally. Please let me know if you would put one up in your yard in February. The election is May and it is all mailed in. It is very important that we let people know that there is a senior exemption and this is to ensure that our kids get the education THEY DESERVE. They need to be successful at Bret Harte with the same resources as Vallecito kids. Come to the meeting in the Mark Twain Elementary Library on January 30 at 5:00 p.m. Thirty minutes can transform your kids’ experience. I will host one in Copperopolis as well in February. I met with Congressman McClintock's rep this week too.
The Bond Oversight committee is scheduled for January 28 at 5:15 in the district office board room. This is a meeting about transparency about how we are spending down the last of our bond funds from years ago. We’ve done a lot of great work this year, but it is just refreshing the aesthetics. I appreciate the committee members in this process.
The school calendar survey came back overwhelmingly requesting the traditional calendar, but families really want that whole week off in November. I personally think that Friday professional development days are not as effective as a midweek day, but the results of the survey indicate both families and staff like that day. I think Tuesday or Wednesday would be more relevant, but I can’t fight that fight given these results. Friday afternoon is a hard day because people are tired and burned out but we still do the work.
I want to remind you that bus service is not a guarantee in school districts. It is a luxury. We do the very best we can with the routes we have, but we just can’t always get everywhere. Your understanding of that is appreciated. I also want to reiterate that we will not hesitate to remove students from the bus that do not follow the driver's instructions. You can imagine piloting a tin can with 80 people in it and going over the small twisted highways in our district. A kid being inappropriate is a safety issue to the whole bus. Please talk with your student. I know that is a burden if you have to transport, but it is for the good of the group and we need your help.
Congratulations to our Rotary students of the semester Karson Cochrane and Emily Fraguero. I was honored to be present as Jeff Airola showered accolades on the students in front of their family members. Pretty cool stuff. A shout out to the Angels-Murphy Rotary Club. I am a member and I am proud to say they invest in celebrating our local students and THAT IS SO COOL.
The large Copper playground will be off-line for about 2 1/2 weeks in February as they put that poured-in-place into the surface area of the playground. I know it’s inconvenient. People ask me why are you doing the work now? The reason is that the surface does not cure with swings in temperature of greater than 20°. We have to take our window when given. The extreme heat swings of Copper that often start Spring are a challenge. I hope you’ll be pleased with the results when it is finished!
The Mark Twain kinder and elementary structures are in need of a few equipment retrofits on older components and we are awaiting equipment arrival schedules. I will keep you posted. I expect it to occur in early Spring with the surfacing to follow shortly
If you are interested in Summer School, get those forms in. We have a superstar lineup of staff ready to serve all students in the district at the Mark Twain site. Please get your forms in early so we can make sure that we have appropriate staffing levels. We have morning session bus service to and from Copper!
A couple of shout outs to Bret Harte–The middle school music program is so COOL! Our grant-funded high school peer tutor program under Jennifer Landry at MT is blossoming. THIS IS FANTASTIC. Jennifer has 30 peer tutors that submitted applications! More students at MT are receiving intervention and much of her day is pulling kids for small group support. I appreciate Jana Taylor's support in creating those intervention schedules.
To the families that visited with me on the phone on Friday night whose students had an F and are at risk of not participating in graduation, I want to say thank you for your partnership and support. Look at the IC grades and talk with your students' teachers. I would much rather we have time in partnership to fix it, then to take away a life milestone that means so much to families. Kids need to do the work, but we have great structures to help them get it done!
We have a long way to go, but the waves of increased progress are rolling in and the growth is steady. Register to vote and get ready to bring the funding resources to create a steady, stable and consistent tide of achievement! Our kids deserve it. Voter registration forms are available in the school office.
Wishing you a happy and safe weekend.
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson, Superintendent
650-996-3290