Board–A-Gram September 2016

1290 Ridder Park Drive, MC 202, San Jose, CA 95131-2304

PHONE: 408-406-4974 | execdirector@sccsba.org | www.sccoe.org/sccsba | Facebook: SCCSBA |

President’s Corner

by Reid Myers, SCCSBA President

Welcome back to school! At our district staff kick-off last month, we had the opportunity to hear Dr. Trudy Arriaga speak on cultural competency. She talked about "opening doors" (the name of her book) for our students to ensure access and equity for our diverse population. We are privileged to live in a uniquely diverse community where the students we serve range from wealthy to financially struggling, they may be straight or LGBTQ, and many come from countries across the world. But the uniqueness of our population also means that we must work hard to ensure we are inclusive, equitable, and conscious of the different needs of our students. Dr. Arriaga spoke about the characteristics that "frame" each of us. What makes us who we are? Perhaps it's our religion, our profession, our role as a parent or grandparent, our heritage, our sexual orientation. As teachers, school leaders, and policy-makers, we have the ability to ensure that our students can come to school and be themselves... that regardless of who they are or where they come from, they feel like they belong. We have a very special speaker coming to our first SCCSBA meeting on Wednesday, September 28th. Dr. Marci Bowers is a pioneer in the field of genital reassignment surgery and the first transgender woman in the world to perform transgender surgery. She has performed almost 2,000 surgeries and has a unique perspective on gender, genetics and the needs of a growing base of people who are gender non-conforming. We would love to share this special guest speaker with Superintendents and interested board members who may not be SCCSBA reps, so please let Bonnie or me know if you would like to join us on Sept 28th. The meeting will be at the County Office of Education in the Cupertino room starting at 7:30pm. Dr. Bowers will be speaking from about 7:40-8:15pm. For those interested in the topic of cultural competency and equity, we will be working with the SCCOE on providing a conference on this topic in the next few months. Stay tuned for more information. We hope to see you at our Fall Dinner on October 26th at Mission College where we are excited to host Rushton Hurley as our keynote for the evening. Rushton is a compelling speaker who offers a global and unique view of the importance of creativity in learning.

Page 1

SCCSBA 2016-2017 Officers Reid Myers, President Jodi Muirhead, Vice President, Fall Dinner Chair Danielle Cohen, Treasurer Bob Benevento, Past President 2015-16 District Representatives and Delegates Alum Rock USD Dolores Marquez, Rep. Alum Rock USD Andres Quintero, Delegate Berryessa USD Thelma Boac, Rep., Awards Co-Chair Cambrian SD Doron Aronson, Rep. Campbell UHSD Linda Goytia, Rep. Campbell USD Danielle Cohen, Rep., Delegate Cupertino USD Anjali Kausar, Rep., Legislative Brunch

Chair, Delegate Cupertino USD Josephine Lucey, Delegate, CSBA Past

President East Side UHSD Frank Biehl, Delegate East Side UHSD Pattie Cortese, Rep. Evergreen SD Sylvia Alvarez, Rep. Evergreen SD Bonnie Mace, Delegate, Exec. Director Franklin-McKinley SD George Sanchez, Delegate Franklin-McKinley SD Omar Torres, Rep. Fremont UHSD: Bill Wilson, Rep. Gilroy Unified SD Fred Tovar, Rep. Lakeside Joint SD Linda Kelley, Rep. Loma Prieta JT.Union SD Deana Arnold, Rep. Los Altos SD Vladimir Ivanovic, Rep. Los Gatos USD Alex Potts, Rep. Los Gatos/Saratoga UHSD Cynthia Chang, Rep., Delegate Luther Burbank SD, Meghan Francis, Rep. MetroEd, Matthew Dean, Rep. Milpitas Unified SD, Chris Norwood, Rep. Moreland SD, Brian Penzel, Rep. Morgan Hill Unified SD, Bob Benevento, Rep., Delegate Mount Pleasant SD, Betty Martinez, Rep. Mountain View Whisman SD Ellen Wheeler, Rep. Mountain View/Los Altos HSD, Joe Mitchner, Rep.,

Awards Co-Chair, Delegate Oak Grove SD Carolyn Bauer, Rep. Orchard SD Karl Jacobson, Rep. Palo Alto Unified SD Melissa Baten Caswell, Rep. San Jose Unified SD Susan Ellenberg, Rep. San Jose Unified SD Pam Foley, Delegate SCC Board of Ed Darcie Green, Delegate SCC Board of Ed Rosemary Kamei, Rep. Santa Clara Unified SD Albert Gonzalez, District

Director Region 20, Delegate Santa Clara Unified SD, Jodi Muirhead, Rep. Saratoga USD Patty Buchanan, Rep. Sunnyvale SD Reid Myers, Delegate Sunnyvale SD Nancy Newkirk, Rep. Union SD Sheila Billings, Rep.

2016-2017 Calendar Wednesday, September 28, 2016 (4th Wednesday) Regular Monthly Meeting – Transgender/LGBTQ Issues in Education 7:30-9:00 p.m., Cupertino Room, SCCOE Thursday, September 29, 2016 Teacher of the Year Celebration 6:15-9:30 p.m., Heritage Theater, Campbell Wednesday, October 26, 2016 Fall Dinner - “Creativity, Inspiration & Excellence”, featuring guest speaker Rushton Hurley 6:00-9:00 p.m., Mission College, Santa Clara Fall 2016 SCCSBA/SCCOE Workshop: Equity and Diversity Time and Venue TBD Wednesday, November 9, 2016 (2nd Wednesday) Regular Monthly Meeting – Education Technology 7:30-9:00 p.m., Oak Grove Room, SCCOE Thursday-Saturday, December 1-3, 2016 CSBA Annual Education Conference San Francisco Convention Center Reception, December 1, 5:30-7:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 25, 2017 (4th Wednesday) Regular Monthly Meeting – Delegate Assembly Candidate Presentations, Guest Speaker: SCCOE Supt. Jon Gundry 7:30-9:00 p.m., Oak Grove Room, SCCOE Spring 2017 SCCSBA/SCCOE Workshop: Mental and Emotional Wellness for Students Time and Venue TBA Wednesday, February 15, 2017 (3rd Wednesday) Regular Monthly Meeting – Education Advocacy 7:30-9:00 p.m., Milpitas Room, SCCOE Saturday, March 4, 2017 Legislative Brunch 9:00 a.m. to Noon, Venue TBA Wednesday, March 22, 2017 (4th Wednesday) Regular Monthly Meeting – Budgets/LCAP/STRS/PERS 7:30-9:00 p.m., Oak Grove Room, SCCOE Wednesday, April 26, 2017 Hoffmann Awards Dinner/Presentations 6:00-9:00 p.m., Venue TBA Wednesday, May 17, 2017 Annual Officer’s and District Representatives’ Dinner 6:30-8:00 p.m., Hong Fu Restaurant

Page 2

October 26 - SCCSBA Fall Dinner

Mark your calendars for our annual SCCSBA Fall Dinner, which will take place at Mission College on Wednesday, October 26 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. The Fall Dinner’s featured guest speaker will be Rushton Hurley, and the theme will be “Creativity, Inspiration and Excellence”.

To register, please visit https://2016falldinner.eventbrite.com.

Rushton Hurley has been a Japanese language teacher, principal of an online school, and a successful social benefit entrepreneur. He is the executive director of NextVista.org, the Global Project Lead at the Krause Center for Innovation, and the current president of the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley. Rushton keynotes at conferences around the world on affordable and innovative technology, the power of digital media, and the perspectives and experiences of professionals in an ever-changing world.

Our Fall Dinner is sponsored by HMC Architects.

All superintendents and school board members are welcome to attend.

September 28 – SCCSBA Monthly Meeting – Special Guest Speaker Dr. Marci Bowers Mark your calendar for our Wednesday, September 28 SCCSBA meeting, featuring the topic of “Gender Identity: Transgender/LGBTQ Issues in Education”. We have a very special guest speaker - Dr. Marci Bowers, who travels the world speaking, and performing male-to-female and female-to-male surgeries. As a transgender woman herself, she has a unique perspective on transgender and LGBTQ issues in education. We will also be sharing LGBTQ inclusive board policies that your districts might want to consider if you haven't already. It will be about a half hour presentation so we will have time to do our regular business as well. We will also have a quick presentation on Measure A - affordable housing. All board members are welcome to attend the meeting. This meeting will be held from 7:30-9:00 p.m. in the Cupertino Room of the SCCOE.

October 7 - SCCSBA Friday Lunch

Our next SCCSBA lunch will be held on Friday, October 7 at Country Gourmet in Sunnyvale. Join fellow SCCSBA members from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for food and good conversation. All school board members are welcome to these informal lunches.

Page 3

SCCOE Spotlight

Santa Clara County Board of Education approves Opportunity Youth Academy as countywide

charter school

After a successful pilot year, Opportunity Youth Academy (OYA) began its second year on September 6 as the newest countywide charter school following the recent approval of its petition on August 17 by the Santa Clara County Board of Education. After almost two years of development and support from the Board, OYA was successfully launched last school year as a credit-recovery program that re-engages students aged 16-24 to help them earn their high school diploma. The program offers teacher-directed instruction as well as online options. Operating in four locations around the county with a fifth set to open soon on Story Road in San Jose, the program has re-engaged more than 200 mostly economically disadvantaged students, helping more than 40 graduate in the program's first year. Due to the success of reaching its target audience and the growth of the program, the funding model had to be restructured to continue meeting the needs of these unserved students. Under the leadership of County Superintendent of Schools Jon R. Gundry, the Santa Clara County Office of Education pursued the idea of operating OYA as a countywide charter school to receive state funding. "We need to be resourceful to meet this critical need in our community and we believe the approval of OYA as a countywide charter school will allow us to continue providing access to a high quality educational pathway for students who are not currently enrolled in school and have not yet earned a diploma," Superintendent Gundry said. The granting of the charter petition will replicate and extend the OYA program through an innovative curriculum with SIATech that integrates technology with academics and involves several partners to assist with curriculum and comprehensive professional development. The program also serves English language learners and students with special needs, provides individualized support of teachers, counselors, navigators, and liaisons, and offers a flexible schedule and the ability to accommodate students with children. The focus is ensuring that students leave the program with a high school diploma and on a path to college or a career. The classes students complete satisfy admission requirements for California public universities and military service. "Anytime we can offer services to students who are most in need, it is a win-win situation," Mr. Gundry said. "With more sites planned to come online across the county, more students will be able to enroll, helping to reduce economic challenges that often hinder students' efforts to reengage in the educational system." With more than 6,000 potential students who meet the OYA criteria in Santa Clara County, the SCCOE is embarking upon a comprehensive marketing strategy to reach the intended population through existing students and community based organizations. Interested 16- to 24-year-olds who would benefit from the Opportunity Youth Academy program should call 1-844-OYA-4UUU (1-844-692-4888) or email oya@sccoe.org.

Page 4

District Highlights

Luther Burbank School District

We welcome new Superintendent Dr. Christopher Ortiz.

East Side Union High School District James Lick High School is extremely excited to partner with iMentor, an innovative youth mentoring organization that matches adult volunteers with high school students from the Bay Area. They partner with an entire school and match every single 11th and 12th grader with a mentor (1:1 ratio). Pairs interact through a flexible combination of weekly online communications and monthly in-person meetings at iMentor sponsored events. Mentors help their mentees achieve personal, academic, and career goals, and many mentees become the first in their family to attend college. About iMentor iMentor builds rigorous, high-impact mentoring relationships that ensure more students from low-income communities succeed in college. By partnering with public high schools and matching every student in the school with a mentor, iMentor leverages the community to re-imagine the counseling function in schools.

Page 5

District Highlights

Moreland School District

On August 12, 2016, over 70 Moreland School District staff members, as well as Superintendent Bob Bravo of CUHSD, participated in a poverty simulation facilitated by Step Up Silicon Valley. All participants were given an identity as they “walked a mile” trying to survive one month as a family member or individual living in poverty in Silicon Valley. The goal of the event is to shine a spotlight on humanity: the quality that makes us human, such as the ability to love, have compassion or be creative. A video of Moreland’s focus and excerpts from the Poverty Simulation can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/MorelandPovertySimulation2016

Sunnyvale School District

Determined to go to Space: CMS Bulldogs experience U.S. Space Camp over the summer Two Columbia Middle School students and a CMS science teacher went through the ultimate space adventure this summer, participating in activities such as building and launching rockets, experiencing weightlessness in an astronaut-training simulator and simulating space travel preparation. The trip was made possible by the Northrop Grumman Foundation, which provided scholarships for a total of 80 students and 48 teachers to attend Space Camp from Sunday, July 24 – Friday, July 29, 2016. This was the eighth year that the Northrop Grumman Foundation has sponsored students and teachers from across the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia to attend the Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

Page 6

District Highlights

MetroED

Ten High School Students Complete Summer Internship at Santa Clara Valley Water District This summer, the Santa Clara Valley Water District hosted 48 local high school and college students for a paid summer internship program. Out of 500 applicants this year, 10 participants were high school students from MetroED’s Silicon Valley Career Technical Education. These students marked the first time high school teenagers were selected for the water district’s summer internship program. The hands-on learning opportunity introduced these students to water career pathways based on their individual interests. Several key partnerships helped make the summer internship program possible at the Santa Clara Valley Water District, including: San Jose-Evergreen Community College District, Metropolitan Education District, TeenForce, and Silicon Valley Career Pathways. Click here to read more

Palo Alto Unified School District

The college-application process just got easier for Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) high school students as the school district is removing one of the barriers for its juniors and seniors—the cost to take the ACT. This 2016-17 school year, PAUSD will provide the opportunity to students who are the first in their family to attend college, as well as students who may demonstrate a financial need, to take the ACT without a fee. The school district has arranged for students to take the ACT test for free at their respective schools during the school day. “This is truly a valuable opportunity for our students to take the test without a cost and in familiar surroundings instead of a testing center,” explains Dr. Judy Argumedo, the school district’s director of academic supports. “PAUSD is hoping to remove barriers and obstacles that prevent low income and first generation students from taking college entrance exams, such as weekend tests at unfamiliar sites, transportation challenges, and financial costs.” Taking the ACT often may result in increased college eligibility. ACT test scores reflect what students have learned throughout high school and provide colleges and universities with information for recruiting, advising, and admissions. In addition to removing the $38 fee, the Department of Academic Supports is also providing a free resource ACT test preparation booklet for students to use as a study guide.

Page 7