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.

Board President Shelia Jackson will present the 2009 State of the District address on Thursday, March 26, at 6 p.m., in the Lincoln High School Center for the Arts. A dessert reception, hosted by SDG&E, will be held immediately following the program. For more information and to RSVP, please go to http://www.sandi.net/stateofthedistrict.aspx .

Board President Shelia Jackson, Kearny High School of International Business Principal Ana Diaz-Booz and I were guests recently on iTV’s Issues in Education program, hosted by County Superintendent Randy Ward. The program, "New Initiatives in San Diego Unified School District," will air on Cable Channel 16 on Sunday, March 8, at 1 p.m., and Tuesday, March 10, at 5:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Linda Zintz at (619) 725-5568.

Part of a new report from the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution has compared large urban schools to rural and suburban counterparts in the same state and found encouraging improvement. "City districts still lag behind," conceded the study's author, Tom Loveless, "but we were glad to find that twenty-nine of the thirty-seven big city school districts closed the gap between their test scores and state averages." For eight districts, however, the gap did not close. Disappointingly, the San Diego Unified School District ranked thirty-fourth out of thirty-seven district in the narrowing the gap between their test scores and state averages between 2000 and 2007. And in Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, test scores are two standard deviations below state averages. "The 2008 Brown Center Report on American Education: How Well Are American Students Learning?" doesn't pin improvements to a particular policy or practice, but points to a range of explanations that include the rise of accountability systems such as No Child Left Behind; urban school reform strategies such as school choice, standards, and lower class size; and the growth of mayoral control over city schools. The report recommends collecting better data on what urban schools are doing, and suggests an annual national inventory of local policies and practices to allow the nation "to learn from recent successes and to sustain gains into the future.” To read the report, go to http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2009/0225_education_loveless.aspx .

Friday Notes is getting a new look. Beginning next week, Friday Notes will arrive as an e-newsletter. The new version will include an improved reader-friendly format and photos. For more information, please contact Linda Zintz at (619) 725-5568.

In an effort to increase awareness on the importance of eating a nutritious breakfast, a celebration of the National School Breakfast Week was held this morning at Normal Heights Elementary School. The event was a collaboration between San Diego Unified, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service, and the California Department of Education Nutrition Services Division, and highlighted the district’s highly effective Breakfast in the Classroom program. Since its inception in 2006, the breakfast program has increased the average number of breakfasts served in participating schools by 350%. For these efforts, SDUSD has received an award from the USDA’s National School Breakfast Expansion Initiative. Board President Shelia Jackson, Vice-President Richard Barrera and Trustee Katherine Nakamura welcomed local, state and national elected officials and staff members to this special celebration. For additional information, please contact Gary Petill, director, food services department, at (858) 627-7301.

Pam Hosmer, program manager for Services for Students with Emotional Disturbance, Licensed Children’s Institutions, and Homeless Foster Youth, has been selected as 2009 Administrator of the Year in the Pupil Personnel Category by the Association of California School Administrators, Region 18. Pam works tirelessly to design, implement and support services for many of our most vulnerable students. She will receive her award at the Seventh Annual “Honoring Our Own” Awards Dinner on April 29. For more information, please contact Arun Ramanathan, chief student services officer, at (619) 725-5678.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals conference held recently at the San Diego Convention Center brought national attention to our high schools. On February 25, more than 20 visitors from throughout the country spent a half-day at Kearny’s Construction Technology Academy (CTA) and Digital Media and Design (DMD) to learn first-hand about how to successfully transform a large comprehensive high school into successful autonomous small high schools. A team of staff and students from the San Diego Met High School presented an interactive session focused on the school's internship program. Participants learned more about the innovative partnerships developed where collaboration and personalization play a pivotal role in giving Met students an edge in both college and the world of work. For more information, please contact Virginia Eves, director, Office of College, Career and Technical Education, at veves@sandi.net or (858) 503-1754.

It’s the “Year of Literacy” and the Transportation Services Department takes that literally. Students will now be able to increase their reading skills while earning valuable “book points” on San Diego Unified school buses. Beginning this month, students who are transported on school buses will be able to log their reading with their bus driver; drivers will be given special tracking logs for each route and each book read by a student will equal a point. At the end of May, the school bus route with the most book points will be awarded the Bus Load of Books winner. The school which that bus serves will get a Bus Load of Books. The driver of that bus will also get to claim some valuable and “book-worthy” prizes. Donation barrels for children’s books will be available at the Transportation office. For additional information, please contact Alex Robinson, director of transportation, at (858) 496-8701 or arobinson@sandi.net.

The Board of Education recently appointed nine members to the Proposition S Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee (ICOC). As part of the bond measure, and as required by law, the ICOC monitors how the district spends Prop S tax dollars. The following individuals were appointed based on the respective criteria:

• One member that is active in a business organization representing the business community located within the district. Appointee: Gil Johnson
• One member who is active in a senior citizens’ organization (Appointee to be named later)
• One member of a bona fide taxpayers’ association. Appointee: Deanna Spehn
• One member who is the parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the district. Appointee: Ray Moreno
• One member who is the parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the district and is active in a parent/teacher organization. Appointee: James Frager

MiddleWeb, a website that provides a wealth of resources for schools, districts, educators, parents and public school advocates working to raise achievement for all middle grade students, has posted a list of top websites for teachers.

There's still time to register for National School Board Association 69th Annual Conference in San Diego, April 4-7, 2009. Take advantage of a special one-day rate of $295. Don't miss the opportunity to hear from the new Secretary of Education on Saturday, April 4; learn how to make the most of the stimulus package at a special session on Sunday, April 5; or take advantage of some of the hundreds of timely educational workshops to help meet today's challenges. For more information and to register, please visit http://www.nsba.org/conference/ .

• E.B. Scripps Students Rewarded for Good Deeds
  E. B. Scripps Elementary School students demonstrate Penguin Pride when they try to always do their best – exhibiting pride in their academics, their school and themselves. To promote this sense of pride, a school-wide “Caught you being good!” initiative has been launched. Staff members reward students with an “I caught you being good!” card when they are seen performing a good deed. Individual teachers have set up personalized systems for rewards. The principal draws two cards each Friday for special rewards that include lunch with the principal, Barnes and Noble gift cards and ice cream treats. For more information, please contact Greg Collamer, principal, at (858) 693-8593.
  
  
• S.D. Cooperative Charter School (SDCCS) Students Join Pennies for Peace
  Every year, SDCCS students plan and implement a school-wide community service project. This year, the students selected Pennies for Peace, the campaign to raise money to provide school supplies and build schools in Pakistan. To date, the students have raised $1,145.13. For more information, please contact Dr. Wendy Ranck-Buhr, principal, at (858) 496-1613.
  
  
• Cherokee Point Elementary Hosts Family Friday Science Day
  On February 27, Principal Godwin Higa hosted a Family Friday Science Day at Cherokee Point Elementary. Mr. Higa taught a lesson on hot air balloons and spent three afternoons preparing, teaching and working with 5th graders before the balloons were launched for Family Science Friday. More than 60 parents visited classrooms focused on science and received mini science lessons from Mr. Higa and the Parent University trainers. For more information, please contact Godwin Higa, principal, at ghiga@sandi.net .
  
  
• World Math Day at John Muir K-12 Magnet School for Global Citizenship
  John Muir K-12 Magnet School for Global Citizenship recently participated in World Math Day, with 222 participants who came up with 80,222 correct answers. World Math Day is a UNICEF project and supports literacy for the 115 million children worldwide who are not in school. The worldwide goal was to solve 182,000,000 problems, the final tally was 452,682,682. Top students were from Australia, Spain, Pakistan and Turkey. Muir's top participant was an eighth grader. Students compete via computers against children from around the world. This year, more than 1,500,000 children registered to play from 226 countries. For more information, please contact Caryn Maroni at (858) 268-1954.
  
  
• Breakers Breakdown Barriers
  Patrick Ivison, a ninth grade student at Scripps Ranch High School, has a passion for surfing. Despite incurring a spinal injury at the age of 14 months and being confined to a wheelchair, he has joined his high school’s Surf Team. Patrick, previously featured in a San Diego Union-Tribune article, was interviewed on Tuesday afternoon at Cardiff by the Sea by the Today Show for a story on Project Walk. He was joined by his fellow Surf Team members. Patrick is an inspiration for students and staff members. Besides surfing, he plays in the school band, is an avid reader, and enjoys being a student at SRHS. For more information, please contact Kurt Madden, principal, at kmadden@sandi.net .
  
  
• Global Learning of Literature at Patrick Henry High
  Patrick Henry High English teacher Candy Pauchnick will present at the Computer Users in Education conference, being held this week in Palm Springs. She will share her website, which describes how her students study literature with peers in classrooms in Brazil, China and Italy. The students in all four countries participate on a Literature Blog where they respond to questions on literary works such as Pride and Prejudice, Death of a Salesman and A Street Car Named Desire. According to Pauchnick, her students not only learn more about the literature, but also about the lives and cultures of those they are learning with. For more information, please contact Candy Pauchnick at (619) 286-7700.
  
  
• Music Therapy at Twain
  Once a week, the sound of music resonates from the Infant Lab at Mark Twain High School as part of the Sound Minds, Resounding Joy program. Thanks to a grant from the First 5 Commission of San Diego County, this innovative high school program provides music therapy techniques that build bonds between teen parents and their babies. The Sound Minds program increases school readiness for infants ages 0–3 years by using goal-directed music experiences within Cal-SAFE centers, facilitating interaction between parents and their infants. For more information, please contact Dr. Barbara Reuer at (866) 800-0197 or visit the website at http://www.resoundingjoyinc.org .
  
  
• La Jolla High Students Recognized as Global Leaders
  La Jolla High School junior Sasha Altschuler is the recipient of the $1,000 USD Global Leadership Connection Female Youth Leader of San Diego scholarship in recognition of her outstanding leadership qualities and academic achievement. John Walsh, also a junior at La Jolla High, received a $500 Leaders in Excellence scholarship. Both students will receive an all-expense paid trip to the GLC Leadership Experience in Washington, D.C., October 15-19, 2009. More than 200 student leaders from nine San Diego area high schools were nominated to participate in the two-day GLC Leadership Conference. Each student submitted an application with a written essay and participated in individual and group interviews with business leaders and University of San Diego admissions personnel. The Global Leadership Connection program honors outstanding high school juniors who maintain a high scholastic average and have demonstrated leadership ability in their school, community and spiritual organizations. For more information, please contact Dana Shelburne, principal, at (858) 454-3081.
  
  

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.

• Districts Tighten Belts in New and Enterprising Ways
  Like the citizens they serve, school districts across the country are finding creative ways to trim budgets, The Boston Globe reports. Suburbs, cities, and rural counties are asking principals to teach instead of substitutes or are installing solar panels as states drastically cut education funds. Read more.
  
  
• Organized Sports Give At-Risk Youth Critical Support
  A monograph from Team-Up for Youth, which works to expand after-school sports programs for young people in low-income communities, finds that students who participate in organized sports get better grades, are more likely to finish their homework, are less likely to drop out of school, and more likely to attend college. See the report .
  
  
• Study: Teachers, Curricula Help Public Schools Outscore Private Peers
  Certified math teachers with ongoing professional development and more modern curricula help public-school students do better than their private-school counterparts in math, according to a new study. ScienceDaily
  
  
• Transition to Ninth Grade
  Research indicates that students unprepared to handle the transition are more likely to disengage from school, which in turn may lead to dropping out—and a host of related problems, thus perpetuating a cycle of poverty for disadvantaged, low-income youth. See the report .
  
  
• Duncan: Economic-Stimulus Funds Must Spark School Reforms
  U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan plans to use federal stimulus money to improve student achievement at struggling schools, but warns that money alone will not lead to success. Washington, D.C., "has had more money than God for a long time, but the outcomes are still disastrous," Duncan said. Stimulus money for education is expected to be available within 30 to 45 days. The Washington Post
  
  
• Public School Kids Outpace Private School Peers in Math, Study Finds
  A new study by the University of Illinois has found that public-school students outperform their private-school classmates on the National Assessment of Educational Progress exam, thanks to certified math teachers and a modern, reform-oriented math curriculum, Science Daily reports. Read more.
  
  
• Duncan Explores Plan to Lengthen School Year
  U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is studying several programs aimed at improving student achievement -- among them a plan to lengthen the school year in order to make American students more competitive with their peers overseas. CNN
  
  
• Texas Turns to Finland on How to Close Math and Science Gaps
  A recent most-clicked ASCD SmartBrief story, "Texas School Reformers Try to Learn Lessons from Finland," tells how reformers are looking more closely at Finland's academic programs for clues on improving Dallas schools. An ASCD blog post examines why Finland's school system is getting so much attention from the U.S. and how the country is handling the challenges it faces. View the post.
  
  
• Study: 1 in 4 First-Grade Classes Reach High-Quality Standards
  Only 23% of first-grade classes were considered of high quality for their academic, social and emotional climate, according to a study of 820 classrooms published in the Elementary School Journal. An additional 31% were socially supportive but of low academic quality, while the rest were rated as either mediocre (28%) or of low quality (17%). Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org)
  
  
• Ala. Students Must Take Virtual Class to Graduate
  Alabama has a new requirement for graduating seniors: Take an online distance-learning course. Read more.
  
  
• Budget Crises Could Contain Silver Lining
  As educators, parents, and leaders across the country increasingly accept that cuts will likely have to be made to public education because state budget shortfalls simply won’t allow business to continue as usual, a new report by a group representing thousands of state legislators suggests that might not be a bad thing. Read more.
  
  
• California Charters Among Best for Low-Income Kids
  Twelve of California’s 15 highest-performing schools serving primarily low-income children are charter schools, according to the 2008 Academic Performance Index (API), an annual state testing measurement. Read more.
  
  
• Report: Academic, social interventions might help at-risk students
  Many of the 11 Massachusetts high schools that have successfully lowered their dropout rates did so by using specially designed intervention programs, according to a report. Helping students understand the importance of education for future careers, building community collaborations and creating rigorous alternative schools also worked for many of the schools. Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org) (3/4)
  
  
• Support grows for national education standards
  A growing number of governors and education leaders -- including U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan -- now support national education standards, although some educators fear national standards would limit local control and teachers' discretion. Past federal efforts to introduce national standards or exams have met intense political criticism, but the patchwork state standards under NCLB have come under fire as well. Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org) (3/4)