Thank you all for your hard work this year. Earlier this week, I had the privilege of attending several of our graduations. I was energized by the excitement of our graduates and the pride of their parents and teachers. Every day, we are making a difference in the lives of children. Each of those days leads up to a culminating moment for our students – graduation from high school.

As we take pride in our accomplishments, we must turn our attention to the task ahead. We all know that too many of our students drop out of school. As a school system, we need to do whatever it takes to keep our students in school and prepare them for future success.

In many cases, this will require us to change what we are doing. It will also require us to direct additional resources to improve program quality and create programs that can both reach and teach our at-risk students. One of the worst parts of this budget crisis is its impact on our ability to improve our education programs for these students.

Since I arrived in San Diego, I have talked to our elected officials about the impact of the budget crisis. After the May Budget Revision, our situation improved. Even so, a $53 million cut is not something to celebrate. Over the last two weeks, the Assembly and the Senate released their proposed budgets. Both are improvements over the Governor’s May budget. However, there are difficult negotiations ahead. We could be looking at months before we receive a final state budget.

On Tuesday, I spent the day in Sacramento with David Brewer, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, to meet with Senate leaders on both the Republican and Democratic sides. We delivered the message that our budget cuts continue to be severe. We directed their attention to the fact that these cuts are disproportionately impacting large urban school districts and our neediest schools. We told them how the state cuts are preventing us from directing the savings we realized from cutting our bureaucracies to high need programs such as drop-out prevention.

Over the next weeks and months, as the budget negotiations drag on, David and I are going to return to Sacramento in the company of other urban superintendents to hammer home the need to fully fund our schools. I understand this has been a long year but we cannot afford to be complacent. The stakes are too high for our schools. Over the summer months, I ask all of you to continue to let Sacramento hear your voices too.

On Monday, June 16, more than 6,000 San Diego Unified high school seniors celebrated their graduation at 21 commencement ceremonies. Board members and district representatives were present to accept the Class of 2008. Students earning a diploma met California and district requirements, including course/credit requirements, completion of the senior exhibition and portfolio, and passing the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). Graduation and earning a high school diploma place students on the threshold of opportunity. For more information, please contact the High School Office at (619) 725-7237.

The public is invited to attend the Summer Food Service Program Kick-off event being held Wednesday, June 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Skyline Hills Community Park, 8285 Skyline Drive (92114). Kids eat free. Adults are $3. The barbecue lunch will feature a Nutrition Decathlon sponsored by Network for a Healthy California, craft projects, prizes and an inflatable astro-jump. The Summer Food Service Program , funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, offers free healthy lunches to any child ages 2-18 years at 19 community parks and 17 schools during the summer. There is no enrollment, no paperwork, and no income qualifications required to participate in the program. Summer Food Service programs in parks are made possible through a partnership with the City of San Diego Department of Park and Recreation. For more information, please contact Gary Petill, food services director, at (858) 627-7301.

The California Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy has recognized three San Diego Unified teachers for their leadership work in bringing personal finance education into twelfth grade economics classes. Vicky Banks and Ellen Towers from The Academy of Information Technology at Hoover High School, and James Michaelian from the Office of College, Career and Technical Education received “Outstanding Educator” Awards and a $1,000 grant for the program. The Citi Corporation sponsored the awards. For more information, please contact the College, Career & Technical Education at (858) 496-1838.

The Office of College, Career and Technical Education hosted the 2008 Project Based Learning Showcase for 199 high school teachers and students on May 22. The Showcase was the “final exam” for the 37 teachers who had participated in the 2007 Summer Institute on Project Based Learning. Students and teachers showcased their standards-focused, real-world projects using the latest industry-approved technologies, and participated in breakout sessions designed to help improve both the project based learning process and the products being produced. The keynote address was presented by students from the Hoover High School Academy of Information Technology. To see the curriculum for these projects, go to http://pbl.sdccte.org. For more information, please contact College, Career & Technical Education at (858) 496-1838.

The Physical Plant Operations Division is in the process of installing a new, fully-automated key check-out system as a result of the 2007 recommendation by the Portolan Group. Currently, site keys for maintenance staff are checked out manually via district warehousing staff. The new "Keytrak" system will allow employees to check keys out automatically without physical assistance and provides an improved means for key control and security. Additionally, it will offer a variety of electronic reports that will enable management teams to better identify and track usage rates, as well as make sure keys are being dispensed and returned in a timely manner. The system should be fully installed by mid-September. For more information, please contact Drew Rowlands, director physical plant operations, at (858) 627-7121.

New furnishings are moving into the new Mary Lanyon Fay Elementary School in preparation for its opening this fall. The school has already received its Virco classroom furniture. Additional furniture, supplies, and equipment are arriving daily. The opening of a new school requires more than 100 requisitions for ordering all the necessary furnishings along with close coordination between many departments in order to be ready for the first day of school. For more information, please contact Rose Gustafson, materiel control manager, at (858) 522-5850.

Dr. Jodi Robledo, Bayview Terrace Elementary special education teacher, was featured on Fox 6 News in the Morning on June 19 to promote the Summer Autism Conference, taking place June 23 – 25, at the Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego. The focus of the conference will be on how we can better understand and help the people we love who have autism. Broad community participation including parents, teachers, therapist and other professions is encouraged. Parent scholarships are available. For more information on the conference, please call the University of San Diego at (619) 260-5902.

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.

• Studies: Tutoring has negligible effect on scores at struggling schools
  Despite an overall $595 million price tag in the 2006-07 school year for free tutoring for students in struggling schools across the U.S., test scores have failed to significantly improve, according to recent evaluations conducted in Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia. "This isn't helping poor kids," said Jack Jennings, the Center on Education Policy's president and CEO. "All it's doing is taking money out of classrooms and putting it into the hands of private [tutoring] companies." Read more.
  
  
• Free game aims to improve knowledge of Chinese language, culture
  A new cost-free Web-based role-playing game, designed by a U.S. professor who is a top researcher in Chinese education, aims to help students and adults learn more about the culture and languages of China. "Games are supposed to be fun and educational," said Sichuan native Yong Zhao, now a Michigan State University distinguished professor of educational psychology and technology. "This game offers a vicarious, virtual experience of China." Read more.
  
  
• Scholarship applications may be more profitable than summer jobs
  Teens can learn a lot by working summer jobs, but sophomores and juniors may ultimately earn more by spending their time searching and applying for scholarships, writes Chicago Tribune columnist Gail MarksJarvis. Many large scholarships require essays and early planning, but the money for college would be more than worth the effort, she writes. MarksJarvis adds: "Some of the sweetest scholarships -- ones that pay $5,000 or even $25,000 -- are awarded early in the high school years. But families often miss them because parents aren't thinking about college when their children haven't even passed driver's training." Read more.
  
  
• Report: Few poor, minority children enrolled in best preschools
  Only 15% of the disadvantaged California children who would benefit most from strong preschools are actually enrolled in the best programs, according to a new RAND report released Wednesday. "We can't close the achievement gap unless we close the preparedness gap before kindergarten," said Debra Watkins, founder of the California Alliance of African American Educators. "As a former high school teacher of nearly 30 years, I certainly see what happens [to students who] do not have high quality preschool by the time they reach high school, where we have a dropout problem." Read more.
  
  
• Study: Is video gaming a boon to student math comprehension?
  Educational video games may improve student math scores, according to a University of Central Florida study. Students who played the interactive math game DimensionM for 18 weeks improved their scores on a 25-point test by an average of about eight points, while students who did not participate in the gaming improved by less than four points. Read more.