Happy spring!  It’s a wonderful time to get outdoors, cheer on student athletes, enjoy a multitude of performances, and celebrate our teachers and staff. I've especially enjoyed seeing many parent led celebrations from various cultures, like the Persian New Year Nowruz.

In this blog:

• Board meeting this Wednesday celebrates Teachers of the Year
• Celebrating Dr Clark, new President of CAAASA
• Diablo View Middle Recognized as California Distinguished School
• Multilingual Education
• District News Sources

Board meeting this Wednesday celebrates Teachers of the Year

The next school board meeting is this Wednesday, March 27, 2024, where we have the honor of celebrating our Teachers of the Year Finalists and Nominees.  Over 30 teachers were nominated to move ahead in the nomination process, and two teachers have been selected to represent MDUSD in the County Teacher of the Year competition: Ingrid Wright, of Bancroft Elementary School and Mia Carella, of Walnut Acres Elementary School.  Congratulations, Ingrid and Mia! 

I had the honor of being invited to join in the schoolwide celebration of Mia Carella last week, where the whole school formed a maze outside on the blacktop for her to run through while they cheered.

The board meeting agenda also includes: 

• Resolutions in support of Adult Education Week and Arab American Heritage month
• A presentation by our International Baccalaureate schools 
• Vote on Approval of materials for English Language Arts for middle and high school
• Vote on Approval of a Project Stabilization Agreement with the Contra Costa County Building and Construction Trades Council 

And more. See the full agenda and how to participate here.

Celebrating Dr Clark, new President of CAAASA

I’m so proud of our superintendent, Dr. Clark, for his leadership not only of our district, but also for the way he encourages us all to learn from the wider world around us. One excellent resource is CAAASA (the CA Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators). I attended their conference this year to see Dr Clark be installed as the next President of CAAASA. It was so inspiring and uplifting!  

The speakers were amazing, including experts like Linda Darling-Hammond and Pedro A. Noguera, PhD. Workshops were top notch with so many best practices and research based tools. Best of all was the incredibly warm and inclusive vibe of the entire event - full of affirmations, personal stories, heart, community, and connection.

Diablo View Middle Recognized as California Distinguished School

Congratulations to Diablo View Middle School in Clayton, for being named a 2024 California Distinguished School by the California Department of Education (CDE)! The CDE identified 293 middle and high schools statewide for this honor, based on their performance on state indicators on the 2023 California School Dashboard, with a focus on demonstrating excellence and growth in academic achievement and ensuring a positive school climate. They also recently held a grand opening of their school wellness center as well!

Multilingual Education

Last month I attended the CABE conference (CA Association for Bilingual Education). It was chock full of information about how to best serve our multilingual students, as well as how to create environments where home languages are valued and learning multiple languages is encouraged as an important skill for our global economy. 

Literacy was a hot topic, and this article summarizes well what I learned in a few of the workshops:  3 Ways to Ensure English Learners Benefit From the Science of Reading

District News Sources

For those of you who don’t receive the ParentSquare messages within the district, remember you can always read the weekly Friday letters, see Superintendent Goals, and more at https://www.mdusd.org/about/superintendent

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