Mission Statement: All San Diego students will graduate with the skills, motivation, curiosity and resilience to succeed in their choice of college and career in order to lead and participate in the society of tomorrow.

Final budget reductions approved by the state legislature on February 18 and signed today by the Governor are in line with earlier projections, meaning San Diego Unified will lose $33.2 million in expected funding for the current fiscal year. The cuts approved by the Board of Education on February 10 will be sufficient to cover the estimated $33.2 million reduction in state funding for the remainder of the school year. These cuts include a hiring freeze, delaying the purchase of major items from the district's general fund, and adjustments to the workers' compensation fund and reserves. The Board is currently holding public workshops on the budget for the next school year, which must be submitted to the state by July 1. Current estimates are that an additional $63.1 million will be cut by the state. The public is invited to the next budget workshop scheduled for this Sunday, February 22, from 2-5 p.m., in the auditorium at the Eugene Brucker Education Center. For more information, please visit the Budget Update website at http://www.sandi.net/budget/#update .

In recognition of outstanding achievement on the Summer Food Service Program, the district Food Services Department has received the 2008 Summer Sunshine Award from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The award is given annually to individuals and groups who provide nutritious meals to children during the summer months. SDUSD won in the category of Integrating Nutrition Education and Physical Activities at Sites by bringing together a broad group of partners to hold 17 healthy and fun barbeque events at City of San Diego Park and Recreation Centers. Network for a Healthy California staged “Nutrition Decathlons” at each barbeque, encouraging children to participate in fun physical activities while learning about healthy eating. For more information, please contact Gary Petill, director, food services department, at (858) 627-7301.

On February 10, the Board of Education approved a Proposition S contract that will ensure 21st century technology in our district schools. The contract also met the February 12 filing deadline for the federal E-rate program, which is designed to make sure that eligible schools and libraries have affordable access to modern telecommunications and information services. Nearly 80 SDUSD school sites qualified for the E-rate program, which includes installation of improved technology in classrooms throughout each building or campus site, wireless systems in each school, and installation of voice over data systems (VoIP). Discounts under the E-Rate program would result in a minimum $35 million in savings for the district. For more information, please call Evan Leslie, project manager supervisor, at (858) 637-3513.

To date, the Board of Education has approved the Administrators Association and Office-Technical and Business Services (OTBS) to participate in the Supplemental Early Retirement Program (SERP). All other collective bargaining units have been offered the opportunity to participate. Board approval is required for each separate bargaining union before the process can begin. For more information, please visit the SERP website at http://www.sandi.net/personnel/hr/employment/2009_SERP.HTM or call the Human Resources Hotline at (619) 725-8089.

Senior Regional Occupation Program (ROP) students Taylor Baughn, Kevin Hilton, Bharat Madan and Kelly O’Donnel represented Point Loma High School at the College, Career and Technical Education’s (CCTE) annual networking event, Business & Education Direct Connect. With more than 300 business and community members in attendance, the students talked with guests about their high school’s Healthcare Essentials and International Trade courses, Athletic Training/Medical Careers pathway, and their internships and experiences at the Economic Summits in Los Angeles. The students received high praise for their poise, charisma and focus on sharing their experiences in the business world. For more information, contact Kim Eurich, employment outreach specialist, at keurich@sandi.net or (619) 223-3121, ext. 4303, or Barbara Samilson, principal, at bsamilson@sandi.net or (619) 223-3121.

The Regional Occupation Program (ROP) Biotechnology Program at High Tech High (HTH) has earned its second SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Award for its African Bushmeat Expedition project. The annual award recognized eight projects from across the U.S. that involve the outstanding efforts of K-12 students and teachers who are working at the grassroots level to protect and preserve the environment. Award winners receive $10,000 to support their efforts. The African Bushmeat Expedition, led by teacher Dr. Jay Vavra, is an innovative approach to conservation education with an underlying objective of curbing illegal wildlife trade in Africa. The goals of the program are focused on teaching students in the U.S. and East Africa advanced skills in molecular biology and conservation science. Students also gain awareness about prevention of the African bushmeat trade. The program is supported by Dr. Oliver Ryder and the Zoological Society of San Diego, and life science company Invitrogen. For more information, please contact Dr. Jay Vavra at jvavra@sandi.net or (619-) 243-5000, or Betty-Jo Acker, program specialist, Office of College, Career and Technical Education, at bjacker@sandi.net or (858) 503-1745.

Students at four small high schools are participating in the Student Co-Researcher Project (SCR) this semester through a collaborative arrangement with University of California, San Diego-Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment, and Teaching Excellence (UCSD-CREATE). Student teams from the Lincoln Center for Science and Engineering, San Diego School of Communications, San Diego High School of International Studies, and Crawford Multimedia and Visual Arts School will conduct authentic qualitative research at their respective schools on an educational reform topic of the students’ choice with the goal of contributing to educational improvement at their schools. The teams were trained by UCSD-CREATE researchers; range in size from 15 to 25 students; come from diverse academic, language, racial, and economic backgrounds; and include students from grades 9 through 11.

In addition to sharing their findings with their respective schools, the students will present their work and experience at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association being held this spring in San Diego. They will present during two sessions entitled “Student Voices: Generating Reform from the Inside Out.” The project is supported with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the Office of Small School Innovation (OSSI). For more information about the Student Co-Researcher Project, please contact Susan Yonezawa at syonezawa@ucsd.edu or Makeba Jones at m3jones@ucsd.edu . For more information about OSSI, please contact Tony Burks at tburks@sandi.net or (619) 725-7295.

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.

• Has Public Education Replaced Health Care as "Our Greatest National Shame?"
  In an op-ed piece in The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof writes that our education system has replaced our healthcare system as "our greatest national shame." America once held a global edge because of our willingness to educate all children well, not just male elites, but since the 1970s other countries have surpassed us, in his opinion. The stimulus bill "takes some wobbly steps toward reform," and he notes that its $100 billion for education almost doubles the entire discretionary budget for the Department of Education. Read more.
  See also: http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-schools13-2009feb13,0,5490153.story
  
  
• Aspiration, Not Ability, Drives Tracking In Florida
  In Florida, black and Hispanic students are sitting out a national trend that has competitive middle-schoolers opting for high school courses, according to an analysis by The Orlando Sentinel. Using public records from the Florida Department of Education, The Sentinel found this was true even in middle schools where the student population is predominantly minority -- high-level classes are generally filled with white kids. Read more.
  
  
• Meeting High Priority Intervention Needs in a Time of Budget Cuts
  Howard Adelman & Linda Taylor of UCLA's Center for Mental Health in Schools protest deep cuts to student support services in public schools, which they say are the first to go and the hardest hit in times of austerity. "Given the pressing need for learning supports to ensure all students have an equal opportunity to succeed at school," the authors write, "it is time for everyone to recognize that current cutbacks are so unbalanced that essential efforts to address factors that interfere with learning at school will be subverted." Read more.
  
  
• Flex Periods Gaining Traction Nationwide
  North Virginia high schools are rapidly adopting flex periods to offer students remediation and enrichment during the school day, representing a nationwide trend among high schools. The periods, ranging from 40 to 90 minutes, are helping schools save on after-school tutoring costs while simultaneously raising student achievement. Washington Post
  
  
• How Schools Can Be Improved Without Spending Money
  Improving communication with parents, encouraging teachers to call on every single student every single class period, and boosting reading are just some of the ways schools can raise student achievement without spending money, according to Jay Mathews of the Washington Post. At a time when budgets are tighter than ever, schools should consider tapping into their creativity to get the most out of the resources they already have, Mathews suggests. Washington Post
  
  
• Stimulus Includes $5 Billion Flexible Fund for Education Innovation
  Education Secretary Arne Duncan would have $5 billion under the stimulus bill to back new approaches to improve schools, a fund that could prod states to raise standards and reward top teachers as the Obama administration presides over a massive infusion of federal education aid. Washington Post
  
  
• Different Approaches To Achievement Gaps Produce Similar Results
  North Carolina's two largest districts have taken divergent approaches to educating economically disadvantaged students: one buses students to prevent high-poverty schools from forming, while the other accepts economically stratified neighborhood schools but invests millions into those with high poverty levels in the hopes of boosting student achievement. The results are mixed: The performance by low-income and black students is virtually equal in the two districts. The Charlotte Observer (N.C.)
  
  
• Online Opportunities for Meaningful Professional Development: Learning with Wikis & Blogs
  In an essay in ASCD's Educational Leadership, Bill Ferriter writes that the Internet has the potential to revolutionize professional development for teachers, which has been susceptible to business-driven reform fads that have little effect on student achievement. "Thousands of accomplished educators are now writing blogs about teaching and learning," he points out. Read more.
  
  
• Report: Different State Standards Create Patchwork System
  Standards for No Child Left Behind vary enough from state to state that a failing school in one could pass in another, according to a national report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. President Obama has said he will push for more unified expectations. "The notion that we have 50 different goal posts doesn't make sense," said Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "A high-school diploma needs to mean something, no matter where it's from." Read more.
  
  
• Essay: Arts Education Central to Children's Learning
  Arts education is tied to improved student achievement, but opportunities for such instruction are slipping away under No Child Left Behind's push for reading and math instruction, writes Edutopia contributing editor Fran Smith. "If they're worried about their test scores and want a way to get them higher, they need to give kids more arts, not less," says Tom Horne, Arizona's state superintendent of public instruction. "There's lots of evidence that kids immersed in the arts do better on their academic tests." Edutopia magazine
  
  
• Board Game Helps History, Literacy Come Alive for Oregon Children
  An Oregon school is using a teacher-designed board game called Journey to Freedom to help middle-school children understand history and help them practice reading and writing skills. Players, who take the roles of slaves in the Civil War era, earn points through writing short essays, practicing phonics and participating in other educational activities. The Oregonian (Portland)
  
  
• Parrot Helps California Students Gain Confidence in Reading
  A California teacher says her students have improved their reading abilities with the help of a classroom parrot named Starbuck. The third-graders sit next to the bird and read aloud to him, a practice that can help students build their social skills and make reading fun. Read more.