Dear MTUESD Community,
The Bret Harte peer tutors are in full force on our campus. It is wonderful to see these young people engaging in mentorship and academic support with our students. We’ve had such high interest that some of them are going to be supporting our after-school program as well. The program is being featured in a state-wide publication called EdCAL. We pushed the envelope on writing this $320,000 grant that would qualify funds for what we needed for an elementary program with an application for what has traditionally been a high school (secondary) grant and it has been WIN! WIN! We are very proud of this innovation that brought intervention positions into the district along with providing work opportunities for our local high school students. Thank you, Jennifer Landry, for your work. I also have to give a shout-out to Dr. Bill Redford at CCOE for that critical letter of support for the application.
You may have heard that numerous layoff notices have been issued. This is one of the backwards parts of how the state does business. I am required to provide notices by March with final notices by May, but the state doesn’t have our budget in line until the end of May. We are going to lose some staff members this year unless we create some additional funding due to declining enrollment. We will always do our very best for kids and I want to reiterate that in no way is this a reflection on performance. Our staff works REALLY HARD for the kids. We have a State Deputy Superintendent scheduled to tour the site on March 14 to create a little reality check about what we do without much... I appreciate her willingness to attend. It is important for those in control in Sacramento to get a reality check in the field and my invitations to visit are fast and furious. I also want to thank Supervisor Folendorf for visiting with me this week. IT IS APPRECIATED.
The Copper playground is completed. I am pricing a rail for the front, but the playground will open even without that installed. We hope you enjoy the new look and surfacing. I am so glad not to have that rubber gravel stuff all over the place. The contractor will be moving up for the kindergarten and elementary playgrounds at Mark Twain. That will be inconvenient while they do the work, but we have to do it before there are huge high temperature swings. I will keep you posted related to that. Again, THESE ARE NOT FUNDS THAT CAN BE USED FOR SERVICES FOR KIDS.
We have come a long way in facilities over the past eight months. Many of these changes were aesthetic, but they make a difference in culture and performance. I’m also in classrooms almost every day and I see your students are getting good instruction. What needs to happen now is to ensure that our test scores reflect their growth. Our staff are preparing to show students the performance assessment process so that the public face of our district will improve with higher test scores.
We have statewide testing coming up the week of April 22. This will last a couple of weeks. It is important to know the time frame and to please make sure your student comes to school on those days, has had a great night’s sleep, and breakfast. Why do state test scores matter? They do not impact placement of your student in a classroom. HOWEVER, it is as an accountability measure for the district to make sure we’re teaching at a standard where students are learning and progressing. Are we going to make up all the ground we have lost since Covid in a year? Absolutely not. BUT, we want to show that every single kid is making progress every single year. Our kids are smart. We don’t want to be the community where only one in ten of our kids can do math and only one and four can read at grade level. We don’t have enough resources to meet the needs of the kids, but I see every day that our kids are better than that and we need to show our community improved results.
Please work with us to make sure your student is at school on those dates. Test taking is a life skill. Whether you’re going to college or taking a test to get your driver's license, tests are part of life and that is something we need to get kids ready for too. I know the word “anxiety” comes up. We are making this a fun and supportive atmosphere where there will be drawings and incentives for participation. It’s important that we work together to make sure all students feel great about the process. Testing is really important as well, as poor results can impact a requirement to move limited resources to support targeted poor performance areas. At the homeowner level, test scores impact things like property values. When young families come to a district, they take a look at those things and maybe they buy because the school district is highly rated or maybe they look elsewhere. We want to show we are proud and smart--BECAUSE WE ARE--We just have to demonstrate growth.
I have again attached the Measure A fact sheet. We do have voter registration applications available in every office. I am happy to answer any questions about this measure. It provides for a $65 parcel tax for a four year period. This is funding that goes only to the specified uses of intervention for math and reading, smaller class sizes, safety, supervision, supporting athletics, and maintaining bus routes. Let me know if you have any questions. The ballot is mailed to every registered voter and is due back to either the drop off station or return mail with the postmark of May 6. It requires a 66% pass rate. Please vote.
Also, if you know ANY STUDENT that would benefit from a new bike and helmet, please drop me an email at lsimson@mtwain.k12.ca.us. In a very unique partnership presented by Greg Taylor of Rotary in conjunction with WeDeliverWheels, this is going to provide new bikes and helmets for 50 students.
I also want to thank Branch and Vine members who are working to create a volunteer base to support academic reading improvement for our students that are struggling. It takes a village to transform a problem, and we are grateful for partnership to invest in kids' academic growth.
I just marvel about this county. On the same day last Friday, I received a picture of someone up the hill skiing and having a Winter-wonderland time and someone down the hill catching the biggest rainbow trout I’ve ever seen in my life. As my old fisherman dad used to say which is kind of a predictor of life, "It's up to the fish...." We are very lucky to live here, and I wish you a happy and safe weekend ahead.
WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK…GREAT THINGS AHEAD FOR KIDS. BE PROUD, BE RELENTLESS, AND EXPECT THAT YOUR STUDENT CAN ACHIEVE. I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW.
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson
Superintendent
650-996-3290