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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. |  |
A Renewed Focus on “Service” |
As we get ready to start a new school year, there is a renewed and rejuvenated focus on customer service by central office employees. We are recommitting ourselves to provide the best possible educational support services for our schools, our teachers and our students.
During the past 18 months, more than 350 central office positions were eliminated as part of our ongoing effort to ‘right-size’ our support service departments. Numerous divisions have been reorganized with each renewing their focus on improved customer service. During these tough budgetary times, our staff understands that we must rapidly move away from a rigid bureaucratic focus on “directing and prescribing” and move towards a more service-oriented function of “supporting and enabling” the educational mission of our district.
All support departments are transitioning their role to one of coaching, providing resources, training and assessing. It’s our job to provide schools with the information and resources needed to make informed decisions that will improve student academic achievement. For schools to improve, they cannot continue business as usual. They must implement instructional practices and deliver curriculum that get results. Quality teaching in every classroom and meaningful student engagement are keys to student success.
During the coming year, we plan to continue our efforts to support and empower teachers and parents to become more involved with the decision-making process. Teamwork, innovation and collaboration will be our themes and improved student performance will be our objective. Timely, transparent and inclusive communications will help develop trust and cooperation to reach that goal.
As our restructuring continues, we want to make sure you know who to call when you have questions or concerns. Here are some simple tips:
San Diego Unified employees:
San Diego Unified parents/community members:
- For classroom matters, contact your child’s teacher first. If the issue is not resolved, contact the principal. If you have questions about district administrative matters, contact your School Improvement Officer (Elementary
 , Secondary ) or the Deputy Superintendent.
- For school matters, contact your child’s school principal. Remember that a school administrator’s day is unpredictable and allow him/her 24 business hours to respond unless it’s an emergency. If your principal is not able to help, contact the School Improvement Officer (Elementary , Secondary ), then your Chief School Improvement Officer and finally the Deputy Superintendent.
- For other matters please go to our website at www.sandi.net or call the following numbers:
Finally, feel free to contact my office at (619) 725-5506 with any concerns or questions you may have.
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As the district Pandemic Response Team continues to collaborate with the San Diego County Health Department in preparing for potential outbreaks of both seasonal and H1N1 flu within our community and schools, we would like to remind everyone of the simple things we can do to prevent and decrease transmission of both kinds of flu. Here are the current guidelines endorsed by both state and local health department and school officials:
- Do not go to work or school if ill with flu-like symptoms, such as fever over 100°, cough, sore throat, chills and body aches. Remain home and stay away from large gatherings until your fever and symptoms have been gone for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, such as Tylenol.
- Cover all coughs and sneezes with a tissue, shirt sleeve or inner elbow to avoid transmitting the virus through your hands.
- Wash hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Check with your doctor or the local health department about getting yourself and your children vaccinated against both the seasonal flu and H1N1 flu. (The H1N1 vaccine should be available in November.)
For more information, please visit the County Health Department H1N1 website or call the district Nursing and Wellness Program at (858) 627-7580
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Food Services Internship Program |
The district Food Services Department has become a popular training spot for university dietetic interns, coming from as far away as Alabama and Delaware. San Diego Unified Menu Systems Dietitian Kimberly Wright, R.D., M.P.H, is the preceptor for these students and guides them through their mandated tasks as outlined by the American Dietetic Association. The interns generally spend one to six weeks learning the business of School Food Service through supervised, on-the-job training. Once the internship is completed, interns are eligible to take the Registered Dietitian exam. During 2009-10, Food Services will have two interns joining the team. Two other prospective interns are in the process of enrolling and hope to be with us next spring. For more information about the internship program, please contact Kimberly Wright at (858) 627-7311.
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ESL Summer School WorldBeat Event |
On Wednesday, July 22, more than 150 students, teachers, parents and community members attended the culminating event for the district’s English as a Second Language (ESL) summer school program held at the WorldBeat Cultural Center in Balboa Park. During the six-week summer school course, high school ESL students learned about human migration and cultural interactions, with a special focus on the dramatic saga of the Lost Boys of Sudan. The course enabled the students to document their own immigrant and refugee experiences while developing their English language skills. At the July 22 event, students from Crawford, Hoover, Lincoln, Mira Mesa, and Morse high schools showcased their summer learning through student performances, artwork and exhibits. For more information, please contact Debra Dougherty, Office of Language Acquisition, at (619) 725-7266, or ddougherty@sandi.net .
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Patrick Henry Teacher Participates in Research Project at Sea |
A thousand miles off the California coast is a Texas-sized collection of trash. Known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, millions of broken down plastic bottles and other trash have accumulated there. Patrick Henry High School teacher Lara Dickens is one of 30 scientists participating in an environmental research project to examine the impact this floating landfill has on the ecosystem. She's hoping to turn this trip into curriculum for students interested in earth science. KFMB-TV Channel 8 aired a story on the project. Watch the video. For more information, please contact Principal Pat Crowder at (619) 286-7700.
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