Reef-Sunset Unified School District

February 2022 Communication

Superintendent's Message

Dear Reef-Sunset Community, 

Being part of our school community includes the pursuit of academic achievements and meaningful connections among students, staff and families. Kindness plays an important role in our everyday lives, inside and outside our

classrooms. 

Our students learn from teachers, staff and parents about the importance of care and compassion, and why being kind to others is crucial to creating a better, more inclusive environment. Let’s keep inspiring our

students, and prepare them to be the leaders of tomorrow.  

Thank you for your support while we work together to make this academic year a success, and provide opportunities to advance our student’s education and prospects for the future.  

Sincerely, 

Pat Sánchez

Superintendent 

Please watch a special message from Superintendent Sanchez:

Enrollment Opportunities  

We are excited to welcome new students! For the 2022-2023 academic year, we are providing a new Preschool program, located at Avenal Elementary campus. With the expertise of our teachers and staff, preschool students will be learning through meaningful play, with access to important early education opportunities. 

From preschool to 12^th grade, and through our Avenal Adult School, we are working to create the best learning environment for students and staff to excel.  

To learn more about enrollment, please visit the district office or call us at (559)

386-9083. To enroll at Avenal Adult School, please go in person to their

location (205 North Park Avenue), Monday-Friday from 8 am to 9:30 am, or

Monday-Thursday from 6 pm to 8:30 pm. To enroll at Avenal Adult School, students will need to complete a form and take a test to better assess the classes they’ll be participating in.

For more information about Avenal Adult School, you can call them Monday-Friday from 7:30 am to 4 pm, at (559) 386-9083 Extension 1012.  

Thank you for being part of the RSUSD community! 

Celebrating Kindness!

We were happy to celebrate Kindness week in person this year instead of virtually as we did last year. We invited the City of Avenal and the community to help us celebrate. Our students spent the week thinking of ways they could show kindness to each other and the staff. There were extra "Good mornings!," handwritten notes and pictures given in appreciation. Teachers along with their classes dedicated time and effort to decorate their classroom doors with the theme of showing kindness. While we feel our campus is a "kind" campus already, “kindness” was expressed more openly during that week.  

Let’s remember that social media is also a place where kindness is extremely

important. Considering the impact our words or pictures can have on somebody’s life is crucial. We truly appreciate the initiative and positive spirit to join the celebrations! 

Welcoming Cari Carlson,

Director of Learning Services

The awesome RSUSD team has a new member! We want to welcome Cari Carlson, our new Executive Director of Learning Services. Ms. Carlson has spent 26 years working in education as a teacher, vice principal, learning coordinator, principal, staff development & curriculum specialist and Director of Student Services. She is passionate about working with educators to create systems that ensure each child receives what they need to develop to their full academic and social potential and adults are committed to doing whatever it takes to achieve grade level standards. 

Ms. Carlson holds a Bachelor’s Degree

in Elementary Education from Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana,

and a Master’s Degree in Education specializing in Educational Leadership from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, California. Her credentials include earning a Reading Recovery certificate from California State University, Fresno, California.  

Working collaboratively with teachers and administrators to guide and empower educators to focus on students and implement evidence-based instructional practices in all classrooms is essential for Ms. Carlson. She knows that every student deserves a high-quality, effective education and strives to support teachers and leaders.  

As a site administrator, Ms. Carlson has led teams of teachers to support all

learners and improve student achievement in schools in the Central Valley. The schools have been recipients of state and county recognitions for notable improvements in student achievement and school climate. Ms. Carlson is also a trained staff developer with expertise in literacy and language, equitable

school cultures, and data analysis. She believes that students must be in the

forefront of all decisions and recognizes the challenges that educators face on

a daily basis. Welcome Ms. Carlson! 

Important Improvements at RSUSD

Our district has materialized significant improvements throughout the last year, and we want to share some of them with you, including building new classrooms and repairing infrastructure such as sports fields, to support the daily academic and social-emotional experiences of our students and staff. Please take a look at the list below. 

• Added A-D wing classrooms at Avenal Elementary 
• Added a New Kindergarten wing at Avenal Elementary  
• Installed New Shade Structure in play area at Kettleman City Elementary 
• Fixed Plumbing leaks throughout Avenal High 
• Installed New Varsity Baseball fence at Avenal High 
• Replaced new carpet throughout the district 
• Upgraded LED lighting throughout the district 
• Resurfaced Kettleman City Elementary’s pool deck 
• Fixed and replaced multiple broken AC units throughout the district 
• Replaced old and unusable custodian equipment, at all sites 

These are great initiatives that benefit our school community! 

Programs for Parents through

the Family Engagement Center

There are new initiatives at our Family Engagement Center! We are excited to share that we have started our parent courses through Fresno State's Parent University. These are four-week courses offered via Zoom in the evening hours for RSUSD students’ parents. Our first one was the Computer Literacy Course, which started in January. On March 1^st, we will be starting our second course, which is English Conversation I. After that, we will offer Social Emotional Wellness and lastly, Financial Literacy. Parents who complete the courses earn a certificate of completion from Fresno State Parent University. We encourage all our parents to participate in this opportunity to learn and develop skills. To register, call our office at 559-386-9083, ext. 1012 or fill out this form.

We have another update! We are currently running a clothes’ drive through our district. We are collecting clothing items that have been washed and gently used. We are collecting clothes both at the Avenal Adult School and Kettleman City Elementary School during our regular office hours (please our flyer below). The idea is to collect a fair amount of clothing that would allow us to open a Community Closet via our Family Engagement Center. The community closet would be available for our families in need in both communities of Avenal and Kettleman City. 

Thank you so much for your support! 

For more information, please call (559) 386-9083.