Board Highlights
from the May 9, 2023 meeting
MUSD honors educators for Teacher Appreciation Week
As part of its annual celebration of Milpitas Unified School District educators during Teacher Appreciation Week (May 8-12) and California Day of the Teacher (May 10), the MUSD Board of Education unanimously adopted Resolution 2023.36 Recognizing Teachers for their Invaluable Contribution to Learners at the May 9 meeting.

Student-athletes from the league champion Milpitas High School softball team starred in this video reading of the resolution.
MUSD recognizes National Fentanyl Awareness Day
Students from Calaveras Hills High School produced a video reading of Resolution 2023.32 Recognizing Fentanyl Awareness Day, which was unanimously adopted by the MUSD Board of Education at the May 9 meeting.

MUSD, which has taken steps to educate staff and students about the dangers of Fentanyl, including ongoing training sessions for our staff on the life-saving measures in the event of an overdose, hosted a pair of Fentanyl Awareness Family and Community Presentations as well.
  
NEW HIRES
New assistant principals selected for Sinnott, Mattos and Curtner elementary schools
The MUSD Board of Education unanimously approved three elementary school assistant principal promotions at the May 9 meeting:

1) Gina Sainten will be the new Assistant Principal at Sinnott Elementary School, after serving as a Special Education Services Teacher at Spangler since 2012. Gina considers Milpitas to be her second home, credits her Spangler colleagues for her growth, and looks forward to continuing to grow as a leader under the guidance of Principal Laurie Armino.

2) Vivian Sun was selected as the new Assistant Principal at Mattos Elementary School, where she began as a Founding Teacher in August 2018 and then as an Instructional Coach since August 2021. Vivian embraces the Mattos learning communities concept along with Principal Jackie Vo Felbinger and stresses that it takes everyone – families, staff, leaders and community partners – to support all students in their successes.
3) Jinky Bitanga will be the new Assistant Principal at Curtner Elementary School, where she has served as an Elementary School Counselor since 2014. A proud MUSD alumna along with her children, Jinky values a safe, nurturing, culturally responsive learning environment and plans to build on current successes at Curtner alongside Principal Kevin Slavin while identifying opportunities for growth in academia.
RECOGNITIONS
Milpitas HS student leader Nia Gupte
Milpitas HS student leader and environmentalist Nia Gupte was honored by the MUSD Board of Education and District leadership for her environmental advocacy and generous donation of children's books to our MUSD elementary schools.
MHS students Devesh Mamidi and Om Suthar
Milpitas HS students Devesh Mamidi and Om Suthar were recognized by the MUSD Board of Education and District leadership for their success in the state chess championships. Mamidi placed 4th and Suthar finished 5th in the JV section of the state level competition, combining to secure enough points for a second-place overall finish for the MHS team.
Milpitas HS Science Olympiads Team
Milpitas HS Science Olympiads Team were recognized by the MUSD Board of Education and District leadership for competing and having success in regional and state level competitions.
Triple Threat Theatre Foundation
Triple Threat Theatre Foundation was recognized by the MUSD Board of Education and District leadership for a $2,500 donation presented to the Milpitas HS Theater Department to support a trip to Edinburch, Scotland to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest and most prestigious arts festival, as part of the American High School Theatre Festival.
HIGHLIGHTS
MUSD Team leads Study Session on
Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)
Members of the District Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Advisory Committee presented its annual update of the three-year LCAP, a tool to set goals to be achieved for each state priority, plan actions, and leverage resources to improve student outcomes pursuant to Education Code Section 52060.

The District LCAP Advisory Committee and staff were instrumental in engaging stakeholders in all the stages and development of the 2023-2024 District plan.
 
The 2022-2023 LCAP Draft includes three broad goals, progress indicators/metrics and actions with proposed expenditures, and budget allocations in direct alignment with eight state priorities. The final draft will be brought to June 13 board meeting and for approval at the June 27 meeting.
Sinnott staff, students explain all that went
into inaugural Jr. Botball Challenge
Sinnott Elementary School teachers Jeannie Lam, Kelsey Goode and Kiscelle Calvello shared a presentation about the inaugural Jr. Botball Challenge, which took place last month at Randall Elementary School. 

More than 700 enthusiastic 2nd-6th grade students participated in the Jr. Botball Challenge sponsored by NASA. MUSD elementary school-aged students engaged in a team-oriented STEM robotics competition. They fine-tuned their engineering design process skills and learned and/or built on their computational thinking skills as they designed, constructed, and wrote codes to control their robots. Each team then tested their robots in a variety of challenges.

To prepare for hosting the inaugural event, educators from Rose, Randall, Sinnott, Mattos and Spangler, as well as district staff, participated in an all-day, hands-on training in Botball to help facilitate the challenge on April 4.
Superintendent shares State of District update
Superintendent Cheryl Jordan shared her latest MUSD State of the District Update at the May 9, 2023 Board of Education meeting, sharing the latest COVID data and upcoming district recognitions and events.
Learning and Development team shares
report on Deeper Learning Assessments
Executive Director Priti Johari, Director Maurissa Koide, Teacher on Special Assignment for Assessments Richard Hart and Teacher Stephanie Woodhams shared the Deeper Learning Assessments Report with the Board and community.

As part of the update, they shared teacher and student feedback on the learning from the professional development and assessment pilot as well as preview samples of the standards and skills-based rubrics.
Board learns about Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) Panel's Annual Report
Educator Stephanie Woodhams presented the Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) Panel Annual Report at the May 9 meeting. The PAR Panel selects and oversees Consulting Teachers and Specialists, establishes the annual budget for the PAR program and, based on participants in the program, determines its design for the coming year.

Each year the PAR Panel is required to make a report to the Governing Board and the Milpitas Teachers Association regarding the program’s impact on the growth of participating certificated staff. PAR also recommends improvements to delivery of services within the program.
Human Relations team shares Employee Assistance Plan with Care Solace
MUSD has been providing Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) social emotional services to its team members for the past four years. Care Solace serves as a concierge in order to provide timely access to community-based care with added layers of support.

The Human Relations Team shared a EAP report, detailing the services provided and data from those services.
MUSD Board of Education approves variety
of education items at May 9 meeting
The Board of Education approved the following education items at the May 9, 2023 board meeting: