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Friday, May 10, 2019 | Volume IX, Issue XXXVII
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News, Announcements, & Success Stories
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PHOTOS: Employees of the Year Named at Employee Recognition event
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Congratulations to our Folsom Cordova Unified School District Employees of the Year for the 2018-2019 School Year! Winners were announced at the district's Employee Recognition event held on May 1.
The Classified Employee of the Year is School Bus Driver Betty Summers commonly known as Ms. Betty, who is also retiring after 44 years of service with the district.
Ms.Betty always maintains a positive attitude, talks with students on the bus and tries to make a meaningful connection with each of them. She is a wonderful role model for our students.
The Teacher of the Year is veteran educator Jessica Khan of Navigator Elementary. She has been with the district for 21 years. Khan is National Board Certified and runs the Counseling Enhanced Program for students in grades K-5 at Navigator, helping children of all abilities develop the skills they need to access their education.
You can usually catch Kahn with her canine companion, a Facility Assistance Dog GiGi by her side helping students learn and flourish.
The Administrator of the Year is longtime Folsom Cordova educator and Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, Kathryn Allaman. She's in her fourth year as Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, also served as an administrator at Folsom High for 10 years and prior to that worked as a teacher for 24 years at schools in neighboring districts in Sacramento County.
Allaman leads by example as an educational leader with high expectations and integrity, always keeping the focus on students first in making decisions. Her leadership in supporting policies and programs that reflect the evolving learning environment and support of educators has earned her respect from countless colleagues.
In addition Folsom Cordova employees were honored for years of service, retirees were paid tribute to and school site Employees of the Year were recognized on stage.
The event was hosted by Good Day Sacramento and CBS13 Anchor and Reporter Dina Kupfer and was sponsored by our community partners Safe Credit Union and Intel. We had some fun in the photo booth this year with selfie props and signs:
Employee Recognition Photo Gallery
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It was a great event to celebrate the work we all do to support student learning!
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PHOTOS: Special Education Art Enrichment Show highlights student art
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Article and photos By: Folsom Cordova Communication Intern, Syd Fagan
On March 27, The Folsom Cordova Unified School District held its 8th Annual Special Education Art Enrichment Show at the Education Service Center.
Artists in the event feature in ages from 3 to 22 years old. There was a wide range of styles from watercolor to silhouettes to rock painting! The event was put on by FCEF, Folsom Cordova Education Foundation, as an opportunity for students to learn about art through experimentation and creativity.
"It's really amazing what these students can do" says the superintendent of the district Dr. Sarah Koligian. The art filled the boardroom of the Education Services Center in Rancho Cordova. From tables to walls to fold out displays, there was creativity to be seen everywhere.
Teachers, students, family, and staff attend this yearly event! Many students posed with loved ones and their instructors for pictures and showed their art off to all around. All of the schools art units vary. Cordova Villa Elementary students did a Dr. Seuss themed picture, Catherine Volmer's class at Rancho Cordova Elementary did water marbling and Prospect Community Day School painted rocks of all shapes and sizes.
The Director of The 'Special Education Local Plan Area' (SELPA), Betty Jo Wessinger says "The Special Education Art Show has been a popular annual tradition for many years. Our Community Advisory Committee members support the show and volunteer. Every year, a member writes grant seeking funding from the Folsom Cordova Education Foundation and the Foundation has generously covered the costs of the show each year!"
This event gives students in special education the opportunity to express themselves creatively and learn about art. Art is so important to have in schools. Imagination promotes expression and individuality.
Check out the photos from this year's event!
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IN THE NEWS: Longtime school bus driver Ms. Betty shares retirement plans on Good Day Sacramento
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Did you hear the big news? Beloved longtime school bus driver Betty Summers, known as Ms. Betty is retiring after 44 years of service to our school community.
She was recently named the district's Classified Employee of the Year. Ms. Betty was interviewed on live TV on May 6, on
Goodday Sacramento
morning show by
Dina Kupfer
who was the MC at our Employee Recognition event on May 1.
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Team FCUSD selects leaders to support social emotional learning
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Last month, the Board of Education r
evised two job descriptions for vacant positions that, together,
will help Folsom Cordova strengthen its focus on culture, climate, and connectedness.
As a follow-up to those actions, the Board on May 2 announced the selection of two leaders whose redefined roles will help the District build its capacity in supporting the social-emotional needs of students:
Scott Meyer, Director of Behavior Intervention and Student Services
Meyer has been a part of the Folsom Cordova family for nearly 15 years, beginning as a teacher at Mills Middle School, where he led efforts to prevent dropouts, nurtured student leadership, and oversaw clubs and activities that kept students connected to their school.
For the past four years he has served as the District's Child Welfare Coordinator, a role that began with the creation of a Character Education and Bullying Prevention Task Force. The impact of this group's action plan live on today, with increased mental health and emotional supports for students, improved bullying reporting and response protocols, a strengthened Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program, and a 68% drop in reported incidents of suspected bullying since the 2014-15 school year.
This position was formerly called the Director of Attendance, Behavior, and Safety. That job description was revised adopted by the Board of Education on April 11 to strengthen the position's role in social-emotional learning. Meyer replaces Steve Muzinich, who is retiring at the end of the school year.
Geovanni Linares, Coordinator of Social Emotional & Academic Development:
Linares joins Team FCUSD from the Woodland Joint Unified School District, where for the past three years he has served as Executive Director of Educational Services and Student Support Services. In that role he developed and oversaw a comprehensive, multi-year professional development plan. He also designed and led a district-wide roll out of Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports and has been a district trainer of restorative practices.
His previous educational experience includes serving as a Program Specialist in the Yolo County Office of Education, a Teacher in Charge at the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE), and Special Education Teacher, also at SCOE.
At Folsom Cordova, the Coordinator of Social Emotional & Academic Development is a new position, approved under a realignment presented to the Board on April 11. The position - formerly the District's Inclusion Coordinator - will report to the Director of Social Emotional Learning (Dr. Channa Cook-Harvey). The position is designed to strengthen our continuum of supports for students in general and special education while creating better alignment between Curriculum & Instruction, Social Emotional Learning and Behavioral Support & Interventions.
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Important Announcement: Students' state assessment tests scores will be available electronically
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Starting this Spring 2019 parents and guardians can now view their child's state assessment test scores electronically.
During the 2018-2019 school year, your student may have taken the following state assessment tests:
- Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for English language, arts and literacy (ELA) and Mathematics (CAASPP) for students in grades 3-8 and 11th grade.
- English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC) for students in grades K-12 whose primary language is not English.
Student score reports will be available online by logging into the PowerSchool Parent Portal as they are released. Results are available in English, Spanish, traditional Chinese, Vietnamese and Filipino. For more information on understanding and viewing your student's test results online click here. Paper score reports can be available per request from your student's school.
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FCEA & FCUSD Joint Negotiations Update: May 2019
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On Monday, April 29, bargaining team members from the Folsom Cordova Education Association (FCEA), which represents teachers and other certificated staff, and the Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD) met to continue negotiations. During the daylong session at the Education Services Center, both teams worked collaboratively and discussed each sides' common bargaining interests. Below is a short summary of what the teams produced, and initial outcomes:
Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs):
Mitchell 7 Period Instructional Day
: This MOU provides a one-year agreement to offer a seven-period instructional day at Mitchell Middle School for the 2019-20 school year. A seven period schedule is currently in place at Mitchell for the 2018-19 school year.
Initial Placement - Clinical Experience
: This MOU allows clinical experience to be used when placing a new employee on the salary schedule. This primarily impacts Speech and Language Pathologists and will sunset after the 2019-2020 school year.
Appendix D
: Director of Athletics, Peter Maroon presented a revised Appendix D for consideration. The proposal would allocate assistant coaches at a 20:1 ratio as well as clarify the length of a season and the continuity of practice in the postseason. It also separated out clubs and music from athletics. This was an initial read of the proposal.
Both negotiating teams discussed common interests, including the impacts and effects that these MOUs have on the working conditions of the employees and the educational benefit that these agreements have on our students. These MOUs reflect our mutual appreciation for the contributions of our teachers and the impact our teachers have on student success.
Subcommittee Reports:
Both teams acknowledged that a need exists to develop a deeper understanding around some of the critical issues facing our District. In a collaborative attempt, the following subcommittees are actively meeting:
- Special Education Committee
Salary Advancement Discussion:
FCEA and FCUSD are collaborating on trainings of mutual interest. These trainings will be in GoSignMeUp and eligible for salary advancement. The next session is on Implicit Bias. The course will earn two hours towards the 15 hours needed to earn one credit.
FCEA and FCUSD next meet June 6-7 at the Outward Mindset training facilitated by the Arbinger Group.
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Folsom Middle School Theater presents: The Wizard of Oz
Dorothy is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a journey with new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home to Kansas and help her friends as well.
Show date and time:
Wednesday, May 22 at 7 pm
Tickets - Donation: $5 at the door
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FCUSD is hiring: Find open positions here
Here are some current employment openings with Folsom Cordova Unified School District:
frequently for the most up-to-date postings throughout the year!
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Board of Education: May 2, 2019
The FCUSD Board of Education held its regular meeting on Thursday, May, 2.
Agendas are posted online the Friday before each regularly scheduled meeting.
Last week's agenda items include:
Budget Study Session
- Approve Memorandums of Understanding with California School Employees Association Chapter 528
- Approve the Educational Specifications for New High Schools
Discussion:
- First Read: Revisions to Instructional Services Board Policies
All agendas can be found
here
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