From the Superintendent

Happy New Year! If nothing else the new year brings with it hope, although I suspect we all realize that there are many challenges ahead for the state of California, and thus, for all public school districts.

My wife and I enjoyed a week in the snowy Pacific Northwest. We missed the worst of the chaos at the Seattle airport and except for flying in a seaplane to the San Juan Islands in a snow/ice mix - and not having a seaplane to return on because of high winds-  the trip went fine.

While much of the time was spent with my in-laws, we did spend a day with friends as we previously lived on San Juan Island for seven years while I served as their superintendent of schools. Most of our friends are (or were) connected to education in one form or another and thus, we quickly found ourselves in discussions about public education, the inadequate funding, and the strengths and weaknesses of standards-based teaching in preparing kids for a much different world.

I was also asked directly as to my feelings about working with students and families of greater economic means. It was a good question and a fair one as most of my career as been serving families of moderate means or even deep poverty.

My response is simple and straight forward. The students of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District are generally blessed to come from families with high expectations and backgrounds that value education. Our challenge is to make certain that we don’t rest because of this fact and instead push our students to be critical thinkers, real world problem solvers, and engaged in creative project-based endeavors that reflect the reality that students from our district will become the leaders of tomorrow. I believe our job is to ensure that our students are well grounded in basic skills in the early grades, and encouraged to take the most rigorous courses at the secondary level to assure that they have as many options as possible upon graduation.

As we begin 2009 I have encouraged staff to make certain not to confuse student compliance with engagement, or assume that successful completion of classes means our students (nor parents for that matter) should feel automatically entitled to success in this flat, global environment. Teaching in the SRVUSD is not an easy job as our teachers must thoroughly understand the learning standards and wisely integrate them into activities and lessons which allow students to succeed in a knowledge-based economy. In a recent article in the Phi Delta Kappan, Linda-Darling Hammond identifies these skills as “the ability to find, analyze, and use information to solve real problems, to write and speak clearly and persuasively; to defend ideas; and to design and manage projects”.    

The challenges of working with students of poverty are immense and critically important. But as a community and as a school district we also face huge challenges and opportunities. The staff, parents and community can and should be proud of the data which continues to show our kids to be excelling at incredibly high levels. What might not be as measurable, but perhaps of equal or greater importance in 2009, is our ability as a school district to prepare students not only for college, but also for a changed world - a world that demands skills that are not assessed in the classrooms, but rather in the world our students will inherit, inhabit, and most likely lead.

Thanks for reading. I hope to  see you at one of our upcoming forums scheduled this month (see below). Thank you caring about our students and our school district, and again, Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Steven Enoch
Superintendent of Schools

Community Forum Nights

Time: 6:30-8 PM – In School Libraries

• January 12, 2009 San Ramon Valley High School, 501 Danville Blvd, Danville
• January 15, 2009 Calif ornia High School, 9870 Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon
• Januar y 20, 2009 Monte Vista High School, 3131 Stone Valley Rd, Danville
• January 22, 2009 Dougherty Valley High School, 10550 Albion Road, San Ramon

Board appoints principal for Creekside Elementary School

The Board of Education appointed Paul Foucart (currently Principal at Neil Armstrong Elementary School in San Ramon) as Principal of the new Creekside Elementary School in Danville (currently under construction). Paul will begin the full-time position on March 1^st. Prior to March 1^st, he will be released 2 days/week to work on the opening of Creekside.

The Board also approved Lorna Monteith, District Coordinator of State and Federal Programs, to serve as Interim Principal at Neil Armstrong through the remainder of the school year.

Creekside Elementary School is scheduled to open August 2009. The school is located in the Tassajara Valley area of Danville, and is being constructed by Shapell Homes. Creekside is the district’s 8^th developer-built school.

Congratulations and good luck to both Paul and Lorna!

Gardner/Marvel re-elected to Board of Education. Board to fill vacant seat in January

Paul Gardner and Greg Marvel were elected in November to serve another four-year term on the SRVUSD Board of Education. The five-person board has one vacancy to fill (left open by Joan Buchanan who was elected to the California State Assembly in November). The Board will go through a formal process to appoint the fifth board member (final selection is scheduled for late January). At its December meeting, the Board selected its 2008-09 officers...

• Bill Clarkson, president
• Rachel Hurd, vice president
• Paul Gardner, clerk
• Greg Marvel, member
• TBD, member
  

Parent Education Corner

Teen Stress

The San Ramon Valley is a beautiful, affluent, and successful community.  At times, life can seem almost perfect here. Even in this community, however, serious problems affect our teens.   “Affluent kids are two to three times more likely to suffer from depression and to self-medicate with drugs than any population,” according to Dr. Denise Pope.[i] Teen stress can come from different sources in our teens’ lives, including school, family, friends, and even extra curricular activities, for example.
           

There are many aspects of school that can cause stress for teens.  Ideally, teens should be engaged in school and self motivated (see “Commitment to Learning” from the 40 Developmental Assets).[ii]  Often, instead of focusing on learning, however, teens find themselves under pressure with regard to grades, test scores, homework, and the college application process.  Teens are rewarded for their performance with regard to school, and this external motivation places much stress on them.  Dr. Michael Reira spoke at SRVHS in October and reminded parents that praise should be limited to comments about their students’ effort, not their performance.  For example, instead of saying, “You are really smart, you got an A,” say, “You really worked hard on that assignment.”

To access the entire article, click here.