From the Superintendent
Our students and staff return to school in January after a well-deserved holiday break, prepared to continue their good efforts. We have much work ahead of us this school year. As we provide a challenging curriculum to our students, we will continue our quest for ways to ensure that all students have access to rigorous coursework, coupled with the needed support. The added challenges of an uncertain budget require that we are extremely diligent about saving important programs that are key to our success as a district. We take this responsibility seriously and will continue to ask the community for their input and support for our students.

In the coming months, we will also be looking at two important board policies--the Wellness Policy and the Homework Policy. It is critical that we take an in-depth look at the needs of our students in these two areas so that our policies result in the most supportive environment for our students. For over two years, a group of parents, staff, and community members have worked diligently on the draft of the Wellness Policy scheduled to go to the Board this month.

Surveys were conducted on homework last spring, and the Educational Services Division has planned meetings with staff at each school site to share the results and hear their input.  We have also planned several forums where parents and students will have the opportunity to provide feedback before changes to the policy are proposed for the Board’s consideration.  

Despite our continued student achievement, our District continues to face unprecedented state budget cuts. In order to help offset ongoing state budget cuts and maintain the quality of our schools, the PUSD Board of Education is considering a local school funding measure. The measure would provide some stable local funding for our schools that cannot be taken away by the State. Funding from the measure would support core academic programs, help attract and retain qualified teachers, and minimize class size increases. As members of our community, we value your opinion and invite you to stay involved as we review our priorities and consider our funding options during our upcoming board meetings.

Sincerely,
Parvin Ahmadi
Superintendent

Important--change to school calendar
The Pleasanton Unified School District is making a slight change to the 2010/11 school year calendar. This change makes the school calendar more consistent for families with students at varying grade levels and allows the District to implement a high school finals schedule (two times per year) with two hour finals for each class.

Friday, March 11, will become a minimum day for students in grades 1-12. Previously, this day was slated to be a minimum day for grades 1-5 only. Individual school sites will publish the specific schedules for this minimum day, including kindergarten schedules.

Please feel free to contact your site administrator if you have any questions.

Open Enrollment for the 2011-12 school year
All students who are currently enrolled and attending school in PUSD are eligible to participate in the open enrollment process.  Current students may apply for enrollment to a school other than their resident school on a space-available basis.  All applications need to be submitted to the Pupil Services between January 3 and January 31 for the 2011-12 school year.  Forms are available at all school sites or the Pupil Services office.  Proof of residence in the Pleasanton Unified School District is required. Families of students will be notified on the status of their application by August 1, 2011.  Late applications will be reviewed before the beginning of the new school year.   For more information, click here or navigate to Educational Services, Pupil Services, Enrollment.

Start early to satisfy new pertussis immunization requirement
Get your student's Shots before School!
A new California law has changed the requirements about student immunization against pertussis. For the next school year only, 2011/12, students entering 7th through 12th grade will need proof of a Tdap booster shot before starting school. This requirement can be met by receiving one dose of Tdap on or after the 10th birthday and applies to all public and private schools (exemptions available for verified medical conditions or personal beliefs). Beginning the following year (July 1, 2012 and beyond), all students entering 7th grade will need proof of a Tdap booster before starting school. Please consider taking care of this requirement early!

Pertussis is widespread. If your child 10 years and older has not yet received the Tdap pertussis booster shot, please contact your doctor or health department. Getting a booster shot now will protect your child again the disease and will meet the new requirement (Assembly Bill 354). Adults are also advised to get a booster shot.

The Alameda County Public Health Department has issued a letter containing information about whooping cough (Pertussis), available in English and Spanish.

Board Upd@te
Following are some highlights from the January 11 meeting of the PUSD Board of Trustees:

1. Twenty-six National Merit Semi-finalists from Foothill and Amador Valley high schools were recognized for their achievement.

2. The Board heard an update about PUSD's Special Education program. Students in the District's program achieve well above state averages on standardized assessments. Currently, the District serves 1,713 special ed students, ages birth to 22. Kent Rezowalli, Senior Director of Special Education, shared information about the referral process, available programs, compliance issues, and our participation in the Tri-Valley SELPA. Special education programs are typically underfunded by state and federal resources, and the General Fund contributed $5.5 million to Special Education in the last fiscal year.

3. Luz Cázares, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, presented a first look at the Governor's proposed budget. The proposal is the beginning of a long budget development process, and Ms. Cázares expects that the numbers in the proposal will change before a budget is adopted. The District will be reviewing the proposal to determine its impact, and the Board will hear possible solutions to balance our budget at the January 25 meeting. The Budget Advisory Committee will be meeting over the next several weeks, and it is anticipated that the Board will take action on some budget solutions on February 22.

A video of the Board meeting and the packet is available on our website (navigate to Board of Trustees, Meeting and Agendas). For questions, please email publicinfo@pleasanton.k12.ca.us.

Chevron Classroom Challenge winner
Congratulations are in order for 1st grade dual immersion teacher, Christie Carnahan. She is one of five winners in Alameda County to be awarded the Chevron Classroom Challenge cash grant of $25,000. The grant is intended to reward projects emphasizing Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM). Christie will be using funds from the grant to develop and implement a school to home program that connects parents as partners in the education of their children.

Homework policy update
The District has undertaken to work with teachers, parents, students and the community to gather input on our District homework policy. The goal is to develop a policy that meets the needs of students, teachers and our families. Possible changes in the policy will be submitted to the Board in May 2011. Several steps have already happened for this project.

1. It has been determined that the process will be run through the Student Achievement Advisory Committee (SAAC). This group meets five times per year and is open to anyone. Additional meetings will be added if needed. If you wish to be on the committee, please email Linda Flagler at lflagler@pleasanton.k12.ca.us

2. Last spring five separate surveys were distributed in the school community. The surveys were for K-5 parents with 1184 participants; K-5 teachers with 123 participants; 6-12 students with 680 participants; 6-12 teachers with 178 participants and 6-12 parents with 1159 participants. The surveys consisted of a number of specific questions as well as the opportunity to make comments. A summary of the survey results and comments can be viewed by clicking on the links below.

K-5 Parent Survey Results
K-5 Teacher Survey Results
6-12 Parent Survey Results
6-12 Teacher Survey Results
6-12 Student Survey Results

K-5 Parent Comment Summary
K-5 Teacher Comment Summary
6-12 Parent Comment Summary
6-12 Teacher Comment Summary
6-12 Student Comment Summary

3. The survey results and tallied comments have been sent to the SAAC and were discussed at their meeting on Thursday, September 16. The committee also discussed whether additional information should be gathered this fall to identify any other areas of concern.

4.Potential solutions will be introduced to the public over the next several months through parent forums, staff meetings, and student groups. Information on educational research about effective homework practices will also be shared.

5. A screening of "Race to Nowhere" is scheduled in November. Please watch for details.

6. A draft revised policy will be available in March for feedback and will be submitted for Board consideration in May.

Teacher of the Year
Marla Silversmith has been named as Pleasanton Unified's Teacher for the Year for 2010/11. Marla started in the District in 2001 after receiving Bachelors and Masters from Cal State Sacramento, along with a special education teaching credential. She has taught at Foothill High and Vintage Hills Elementary and now teaches the Life Skills class at Amador Valley.  The class has students with a range of abilities.  They practice adult daily living skills with the goal to live as independently as possible.

According to her nomination form, Marla's work touches the entire school.  Students are mainstreamed.  They invite special guests to lunch at The Dons’ Diner and run a cookie business, taking orders, baking, and delivering cookies.  Marla organizes outings for her students to football games, school dances, ice skating, and Disneyland.  On all these trips, students practice and then use the skills they learn. Virtually all of Amador Valley’s 2500 students “have learned to better understand and to embrace the world of special needs kids.”

Debbie Harvey (Amador Valley High School) is PUSD's Teacher of the Year for 2009/10. Click here for more information about Debbie.

Impacts of budget reductions
The District has received questions about the impact of budget reductions in the current year. Please click here to see view some information on how students are being affected by cutbacks of more than $11 million in the current fiscal year.

Additional information about the current budget situation is being posted in the Business Services section of our website. Please visit the Budget Information, Annual Budget, and Budget Advisory Committee pages.

Zangle Parent Connection
For questions or support issues, email zanglehelp@pleasanton.k12.ca.us. Please do not contact the vendor (C Innovations or zangle.com). The vendor cannot issue logins or assist with questions about the PUSD Zangle system. It is also not recommended that you use Google or other search engines to locate information or our login page--you may end up in another school district.

.Click here to access the Parent Connection login page.

Free and low-cost immunizations
The following Tri-Valley clinics provide free and low cost immunization and physical exams: Axis Community Health-- 4361 Railroad Avenue, Pleasanton, or 3311 Pacific Avenue, 925-462-1755; Mobile Health Unit (MHU) by ValleyCare--MHU travels to different locations in Dublin, Pleasanton, and Livermore; please call 925-373-4529 for service location and hours of operation. A list of other free clinics throughout Alameda County is available here. For questions, please contact Pupil Services at 925-462-4290 to speak to the district nurse or health services liaison.

Searching for district information?
To help make finding the information you need easier, the search feature on this PUSD website has been enabled. Simply type your keyword(s) into the box at the upper right of any page and click the Search button. Also, visit the "Who does What" page to help find where to direct your calls and inquiries.