San Diego Unified was one of two area school districts to be awarded a federal grant to improve readiness and emergency preparedness programs. San Diego Unified School District received $484,210; Grossmont Union High School District was awarded $496,297. Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Education through the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. The money can be used for coordination with local emergency agencies, to conduct drills, purchase emergency supplies and equipment, and train employees and students on emergency response procedures. For more information, please call School Police Chief Don Braun at (619) 725-7000.

Students from La Jolla, Patrick Henry, Scripps Ranch and Serra high schools participated in the Junior Model United Nations Conference at the University of San Diego. Over the two-day conference, student delegates engage in public speaking, negotiate with other delegates to reach compromise, and endeavor to find solutions to today’s real global issues. Model United Nations is a student-run, student-organized event. Dedicated teacher-advisors prepare their students in the classroom and meet regularly through the year to plan the conference. This year, San Diego Unified students served as the “Secretariat” and worked collaboratively with the teacher-advisors on planning and organizing the conference. For more information, please call the Office of the Assistant Superintendent of High Schools at (619) 725-7237.

Six Physical Plant Operations staff members have recently earned Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certifications. Education in the Lean Six Sigma business tools enhances the individual’s ability to improve the school district. In simple terms, it is process improvement focusing on reducing waste and minimizing variation. Recently completed Lean Six Sigma training projects include improving newly built schools paper towel dispenser specification and procurement; providing measurement of work order response times and improved tracking of work orders; and a better process for gas powered blower repair. For more information, please call Drew Rowlands, physical plant operations director, at (858) 627-7121.

A record number of San Diego Unified fifth grade teachers will attend the annual Colonial Williamsburg Foundation teacher institute July 1-8, 2008. History/Social Studies resource teacher Lucy Laudate will join eleven colleagues in the study of colonial history and culture. Students at Vista Grande, Porter, Kimbrough, Chollas-Mead, Lafayette, Crown Point, La Jolla, and Jackson elementary schools will reap the benefits of their teachers’ experiences. Local donors underwrite this unique professional development activity. For more information, please call Lucy Laudate at (619) 725-7222 or visit http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/ .

Pacific Beach Elementary students Rachel Brown and Alonzo Houston have been named finalists in the editorial cartoon division of the San Diego Union-Tribune Student Writing Contest. Students in Dave Sandler’s classroom have received honorable mention or finalist status every year for the past five years. For more information, please call Pacific Beach Elementary Principal Sherry Turner at (858) 488-8316.

Young Audiences of San Diego, Area 3, and the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Department have completed their first-year partnership to support and implement Arts for Learning (A4L) lesson units at Rowan Elementary for all grade level teachers. Arts for Learning is a new approach to teaching and learning to read and write in which the arts are integral to the entire process, engaging the whole child in learning. In addition to San Diego, this approach is being piloted in 13 cities across the country and includes a rigorous student assessment to evaluate student academic performance. For more information, please call Kathryn Smart at (858) 627-7467.

The Scripps Ranch High School Academic League Team recently attended the Western Regional Academic League Championships in Dallas. The students earned the privilege of competing by winning the City Championship. The Falcons made it through the preliminary rounds with a 5-1 record, only to lose in the quarter-finals in a triple-overtime match against a team from Winchester, New York. Scripps Ranch High is proud of its Academic League team not only for their success but also for their display of honor and sportsmanship in both victory and defeat. For more information, please call Scripps Ranch High at (858) 621-9020.

Serra, San Diego SCPA, Clairemont, High Tech, Mission Bay, Point Loma, and Lincoln high schools have been selected to receive funding from the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant. The district will receive at total of $901,800 of funding for these schools to implement the After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) program. For more information, please call the Office of the Assistant Superintendent of High Schools at (619) 725-7237.

San Diego Unified Transportation Services has the largest fleet maintained on one site in the country. In addition to school buses, the department provides the only fueling site for 500 other district vehicles. In order to comply with ever-changing regulations, the district fuel islands will get a complete overhaul this summer. By start of school, district vehicle users will be pleased to see new pumps, dispensers and even a feature that makes the fuel islands at Transportation rival any local vendor with "odometer reading" and smart technology. All district school buses use "green low-sulfur diesel" and other district vehicles use unleaded. For further information, please contact Alexandra H. Robinson, transportation services director, at (858) 496-8710 or arobinson@sandi.net.

Discover all the exciting events happening around the district. A complete list of San Diego Unified School District Upcoming Events is posted on www.sandi.net.

• Early Vocabulary
  Mounting research that links language-rich home environments with reading success and school achievement is driving educators and community groups to target families long before children even register for school. Read more.
  
  
• Over-Referral of Black Students in Florida Under Scrutiny
  State and district profiles compiled by the Florida Department of Education and released every spring show black students are twice as likely to be funneled into the state's mentally handicapped and emotionally/behaviorally disabled categories of exceptional student education, writes Deidre Conner of the Jacksonville Times-Union. Florida ranks among the worst in the nation for over-representation of minorities in those categories, according to statistics from the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Professor Janette Klingner says the reasons that disparities exist are complex, and range from poor instruction to cultural misunderstandings. Read more.
  
  
• NC College Grads May Be Required to Serve K-12 Schools to Get Diplomas
  Under legislation proposed by North Carolina State Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, all students seeking bachelors' degrees in the state's public and private colleges and universities would be required to spend 20 hours a semester tutoring or mentoring students in North Carolina public schools, writes Dan Kane of The News & Observer. The program would be named in honor of two students randomly murdered this year, Abhijit Mahato of Duke University and Eve Carson of UNC-Chapel Hill. Read more.
  
  
• Research Questions Quality of Teacher Training
  A growing body of research suggests that teacher training in America's 1,200 college- and university-based programs inadequately prepares the country's new teachers, write Scott Stephens and Edith Starzyk of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Critics of these programs point to low admission standards, non-publishing and untenured faculty, and weak quality control. Many curricula are disconnected from actual classroom situations, and the hours required by some programs for student teaching can be as low as 30. Read more.