During its last board meeting, the Board of Education held a first reading of a resolution that would phase in the University of California (UC) ‘a-g’ course sequence as the default curriculum for all San Diego Unified students, beginning with the Class of 2014. Basically, students who satisfactorily complete the coursework necessary to meet the UC ‘a-g’ requirements and meet the additional requirements of the California Department of Education would be eligible to apply for admission to the UC and California State University (CSU) systems.

In the coming weeks, we will meet with an advisory project team made up of students, teachers, administrators, and community members to develop an implementation plan for the board’s consideration. The group will consider whether we should recommend awarding two SDUSD diplomas. For example, the standard diploma might require students to take and pass the 15 UC ‘a-g’ courses with an overall Weighted Grade Point Average (WGPA) of 2.0 and complete all California Department of Education requirements for graduation—requirements similar to SDUSD’s current graduation requirements. A diploma with distinction might recognize students who took the 15 UC ‘a-g’ courses, with a ‘C’ or above in each course, had an overall Weighted Grade Point Average (WGPA) of 3.0 or above in the ‘a-g’ coursework, and completed all California Department of Education requirements for graduation—requirements to be considered for admission to UC and CSU.

The advisory project team will also consider recommended changes to our elementary and middle school curriculum and teaching strategies to better prepare students for the more rigorous UC ‘a-g’ course work.

Attached is a display showing the percentage of students in the Class of 2008 (by school) who met the UC 3.0 WGPA requirement (for ‘a-g’ courses taken in Grades 10-12, as required by UC). Districtwide, 1,896 (78.1%) of the 2,429 2008 graduates who satisfactorily completed the UC ‘a-g’ course sequence earned a 3.0 WGPA in those courses taken in Grades 10-12. Please feel free to contact Peter Bell or Karen Bachofer if you have questions.

• Professional development lasing 14 or fewer hours showed no effects on teacher learning. The largest effects were for teacher staff development programs offering 30-100 hours spread out over 6-12 months.
• Research does not support professional development that requires teachers to make changes in isolation and without support.
• Effective teacher training enables teachers to acquire new knowledge, apply it to practice, and reflect on the results with colleagues.
• Professional development should be part of a school reform effort that links curriculum, assessment, and standards to professional learning.

Among 1,100 entries featuring essays, poems and raps, 12th-grader, Quintin Cummins from SCPA won first place in the Grade 9-12 category with his winning CD, answering this year’s essay question, “How can you tell food facts from food myths?”

Eleven total winning students were selected from both Grades K-2 and Grades 9-12 categories. Other winners include La Jolla Elementary with the largest number of participating students (66), and Ms. Myriam Pedersen, second grade teacher at Toler Elementary with full-class participation. The names of all winners can be found on the Food Services Web Site. The annual contest was sponsored by SeaWorld Adventures and the Dairy Council of California, with contributions from the Pear Bureau Northwest and Barnes and Noble. For more information on the Essay, Poetry Rap Contest, please contact Joanne Tucker, Food Services Marketing Coordinator at jtucker@sandi.net or 858-627-7316.

On Thursday, May 7, 2009, San Diego Unified closed on the first issue of general obligation bonds for Proposition S, for a total value of $170 million. These funds have been deposited, on behalf of the district, in a fund maintained by the San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector.

San Diego Unified has the distinction of being the first school district to issue Qualified School Construction Bonds authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

$170 million is $20 million over the original projected amount of $150 million. The $20 million will not change the $66.70/$100,000 tax levy approved by voters under the Proposition S authorization. This was accomplished by creating a very well defined financial and marketing plan; taking into consideration several funding alternatives, and maximizing bonding authority created by the ARRA.

For more information on the bond sale, please contact James Masias, chief financial officer, at (619) 725-7561, or Ken Leighton, controller, at (619) 725-7665.

San Diego Unified School Bus Drivers upheld a tradition of success at the South Sectional State Roadeo competition in Ventura on Saturday April 25. Six of the ten drivers competing succeeded in qualifying for the State Championship later this month.

The team was led by David Lancaster who posted the high score of the day at 404, claiming first place Type A and Carlos Livingston who was first in Type B. Shon Hayes placed first in the Special Needs category, allowing San Diego Unified to sweep the three individual categories. Robelyn Watson placed second in Type B and San Diego Unified captured first place in the combined/team competition.

Additional competitors included Joshua Morgan, placing fourth, and Miguel Rodriguez-Santana, 14th place in Type A, along with Josh Morgan and Debbie Schmidt for the 7th place team of three drivers among the 26 teams entered. These efforts along the help of drivers, office staff and alumni who worked throughout this spring in support of all the competitors helped San Diego Unified place third among the "Best Represented.”

Transportation’s six drivers will be competing for the title of State Champion over the Memorial Day weekend and the honor of representing California at the 2009 International School Bus Roadeo this summer and the National Special Needs Roadeo in 2010. For more information, please contact Alex Robinson, transportation director at (858) 496-8701 or arobinson@sandi.net