Joell will represent the district in the Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year competition, and has already advanced to the semifinals!
Foundation Welcomes New Director
The Board of Directors for the San Ramon Valley Education Foundation recently announced the selection of Cristene Burr as the organization’s new executive director. Burr, who assumed the position in May, becomes the Foundation’s only paid staff member.
"I am honored to have been chosen to represent this prestigious organization and look forward to working within the community to raise critical funds for our schools," said Burr. “Raising money for education is my passion, and I look forward to helping ensure that the children in this community continue to have access to quality public education."
Burr spent the past five years on the Board of Directors for the Hidden Hills Elementary School Education Fund and PTA. She was the Western Regional Sales Manager for Thomson Corporation and the Senior Marketing Manager for McGraw-Hill, two large educational textbook and e-learning companies She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from U.C. Davis.
Since 1982 the San Ramon Valley Education Foundation (SRVEF) has provided valuable, consistent, and reliable support for the schools in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, giving more than $2.5 million in supplemental funding to the district. The Foundation coordinates and promotes several fundraising events and programs each year, including the annual Primo’s Run for Education (which raises more than $100,000per year) the San Ramon Rotary Christmas Tree Lot, the Bridges Dinner, and the Major Gifts and Endowment Program.
Ten secondary schools travel to Southern California to receive "State Distinguished School" honors
Representatives from the ten SRVUSD secondary schools recently named as California Distinguished Schools, traveled to Southern California to formally receive their recognition. The only school district in California with more 2009 Distinguished Schools than SRVUSD was Los Angeles Unified (11 schools selected), home to nearly 400 secondary schools. Since the program’s inception, schools in the SRVUSD have received Distinguished School honors 60 times, more than any other school district in northern California.
The prestigious award is considered the state's predominant recognition of a school's total educational program, including high expectations for all its students, the implementation of state-adopted standards, and visionary and collaborative leadership. The schools were evaluated by teams of local educators under the direction of the California Department of Education, and those schools judged to be exemplary were visited by an outside review team to validate the application information.
SRVUSD's 2009 Distinguished Schools:
- California High School
- Monte Vista High School
- San Ramon Valley High School
- Charlotte Wood Middle School
- Diablo Vista Middle School
- Iron Horse Middle School
- Los Cerros Middle School
- Pine Valley Middle School
- Stone Valley Middle School
- Windemere Ranch Middle School
Note: Dougherty Valley High School and Gale Ranch Middle School did not qualify because they are new schools.
School Board approves one-year proposal to maintain critical programs
The San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education took action recently to maintain numerous progams which, as of March 3rd, were originally considered for possible elimination or reduction. The programs identified to be maintained for the 2009-10 school year include:
• K-3 Class Size Reduction
• 9th grade Class Size Reduction
• Secondary librarians
• 5th Grade Instrumental Music
• Middle school student ratio
• High school student ratio (not including reduction in ROP section allocations)
• Grounds maintenance
• School psychologists
• High school stipends for extra-curricular (arts, band, choral, sports, etc.)
• Counselors (non 1802)
• Crossing guards
• High school Discovery Center services
• Library/media assistants
• Reduction in middle school assistant principals
• High school supervision
"This is a significant decision by our Board and will help maintain critical programs and keep critical staff members employed," said Superintendent Steven Enoch. "However, the remaining program cuts for next year and in subsequent years is still potentially devastating."
The Human Resources Department will begin the process of rescinding layoff notices to many employees as a result of the decision, the number of which has not yet been determined.
The Board also directed staff to immediately begin conversations with employee bargaining units around potential employee concessions which would further reduce the number of program reductions resulting in the preservation of more jobs.
The multi-year budget proposal was given to the board by staff one day after the failure of the State propositions, and was based on the governor's May 14th budget revision which reflects another $12.6 million drop in state revenue to SRVUSD. It also, however, reflects an increase in revenue thanks to the the passage of Measure C (the district's 7-year, $6.7 million parcel tax approved by local voters on May 5th) as well as potential "one-time" federal stimulus funds.
The staff proposal to the board included two "options." The proposal can be found on the district website at....
High School Robotics Teams Excel
All four high schools in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District sponsor active and successful robotics teams. Monte Vista, California and Dougherty Valley high schools’ teams recently participated in the FIRST Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. 345 teams from far and wide gathered at the ultimate celebration of science and technology. Among the countries represented were the US, Mexico, Israel, and Canada. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) is an all-inclusive, comprehensive pre-engineering and pre-business program that uses the robot as a vehicle to learn and experience a simulation of a real world situation. “As always, the FIRST robotics educational experience was off the charts! Talk about STEM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math): it doesn’t get any better than FIRST. From showing gracious professionalism, meeting deadlines in a timely manner and working as a team, all in a very competitive environment, it’s the only sport I know of where everyone who plays can become a pro,” explained John Korzick upon his return from Atlanta. Korzic is joined by parent Stewart Leischer as robotics team advisors at Cal High.
The Monte Vista team also placed first in the recent Student Recognition Project, a business education partnership in the San Ramon Valley. Randy Lam, who teaches robotics engineering and computer programming at the Danville school, is one of the team’s advisors, along with John Acton. The team at the newest district high school, Dougherty Valley High (also in San Ramon), is led by math & robotics teacher Robert Jackson.
Robotics Team from San Ramon Valley High School in Danville has enjoyed distinguished successes of its own. The team recently garnered two 2nd place ribbons: one at the MicroSoft-Seattle regional (63 teams) and also at the Silicon Valley regional in San Jose (out of 47, including teams from Canada and Turkey), and was given the Imagery Award there. The students, under the mentorship of SRVHS robotics and auto shop teacher Chris Vanvolbeck and video arts teacher Chad Cochran, all submitted in the Animation and Web Design categories.
High School Graduation Dates/Key 2009-10 School Year Dates
Congratulations to all 2009 graduates!
- California High School, Friday, June 12, 6PM, CHS Athletic Field
- Monte Vista High School, Friday, June 12, 6PM, MVHS Athletic Field
- San Ramon Valley High School, Friday, June 12, 6PM, SRVHS Athletic Field
- Del Amigo High School, Tuesday, June 16, 6PM, SRVHS Performing Arts Center
- Venture School, Wednesday, June 17, 7PM, Canyon View Dining Hall
Some key dates for the 2009-10 school year: