We’ve recently heard from many teachers, parents, and community members who passionately believe that our Mt Diablo schools should be offering more - more music, art and science, as well as providing more counselors, nurses, librarians, smaller class sizes and higher salaries. Our school board agrees, but the vast majority of CA public school funding comes from the state, which we do not directly control. Therefore we've had to make tough decisions to carefully balance student offerings and salary raises within the confines of finite resources and declining enrollment. 

The good news is that we can all work together to fully fund our public schools here in Mt Diablo and across California! 

Here are 4 concrete ways you can join in:

1. Share your story: Personal narratives are key to any successful movement. For 40 years, California has systematically disinvested from our public schools. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, staff, student or community member, your story needs to be heard. Go to evolve-ca.org to share your story and join their movement to fully fund California’s public schools. 
2. Raise the Base: The biggest push right now that groups are coalescing around is asking the state legislature to “Raise the Base” per student state funding to public schools. The San Ramon regional PTA is holding an event on this topic on April 22: https://www.srvcouncilpta.org/ad22-2  They also have this helpful info page.
3. Educate yourself: Ed100.org provides free short lessons on how California’s education system works, with key information about how parents and students can get involved at the school, district, or state level.  Create a free login and earn tickets towards monthly drawings where you could win up to $1000 for your school.  
   • They also run California’s largest annual conference for student leaders, which this year will be held June 20-22, 2022. Every high school should be represented by at least one freshman, at least one sophomore, and at least one junior. You don’t have to be an official student leader to join. Is your school represented? As of today it looks like only College Park High is. Keep track here.  Students can register directly, and educators & parent leaders are encouraged to sign up as an ally to nominate students & spread the word. Sign up at https://ed100.org/blog/student-leader-academy
4. Local fundraising: A group of parent, teacher and business volunteers created the nonprofit MDUSD Education Foundation in 2016, to raise money for Mt Diablo School District STEAM and career/college programs.  They aim to ensure that no matter what zip code you live in, you’ll receive a quality education here in our public schools.  
   • Check out mdedf.org to donate or to volunteer on a committee or board.
   • Are you a realtor or business owner?  Join their Honor Roll Business or Professional programs to showcase your commitment to our local schools.

Interested?  Let's meet in person to discuss! 

Now that places are open again, I'd love to connect with you.  Let's start with anyone who would like to join me at a locally run coffee shop, so that we can support local small business at the same time.  Come to "Coffee with Cherise" at 9am on

• Friday April 29th at Contra Costa Coffee in Walnut Creek.

Can't make it? Let me know other ways to connect - I'm happy to visit PTA/PFC meetings, neighborhood groups, etc.

I have not written for some time, while both Omicron and union negotiations took center stage. It was incredibly disheartening, but I’m glad to say that after a ton of diligent work by many, the clouds are parting. Contracts have been agreed on and ratified by both our school board and the membership of MDSPA (school psychologists) and Teamsters.  And on March 19th a Tentative Agreement was reached with MDEA (teachers), averting a potential strike.  

It is crucial now for us all to unify once again.  After so much negativity and misinformation flooding our community, we must move on to support and champion our local public schools together. Each of us can do this by highlighting and sharing the many successes & opportunities of our Mt Diablo school district.  For example, today three Mt Diablo students won Youth Hall of Fame Awards at the County Board of Supervisors Cesar E Chavez Celebration. Congratulations to Mark Rainier Catapusan from YVHS for the Perseverance Award, Seena Farhadi from NGHS for the Leadership & Civic Engagement Award, and to Krish Veluthakkal from Sequoia Middle School for the Leadership & Civic Engagement Rising Star Award!

Read on for:

• Open Job Listings to Share

• Seniors - fill out your FAFSA or CADAA by April 1st

• School Board meetings

• Superintendent Friday Letters

• Next blog - how to increase funding for our public schools

Open Job Listings to Share

There are many open jobs in our district for all levels of skills & experience, part-time or full-time, so please share this link far and wide: EDJOIN.ORG/MTDIABLO

The new higher salaries get listed as each of the agreements are ratified by employee groups and the board. We look forward to welcoming excellent new members to #TeamMDUSD!

High School Seniors - fill out your FAFSA or CADAA by April 1st

Did you know the deadline was extended for financial aid forms?  

EVERY senior should turn in either the FAFSA or CADAA by April 1st. 

These make you eligible to receive money to help with college, DVC, or Adult/Career Education. How to Apply: https://www.csac.ca.gov/how-apply

• FAFSA is is Free Application for Federal Student Aid or

• CADAA is California Dream Act Application - for undocumented students

School Board Meetings

At our March 23rd board meeting, we voted to approve the Teamsters agreement, and celebrated their hard work and creativity in crafting a win/win agreement with overwhelming support from their members.

We also recognized Adult Education Week - check out the wide range of Mt Diablo Adult Ed offerings here, from parent education, family literacy and cooperative preschool, to career tech certification and English as a Second Language: https://mdae-mdusd-ca.schoolloop.com/ 

Students then took center stage, with YVHS students presenting how they are building school unity around a new mascot, and MDHS students advocating for retroactive granting of high school diplomas due to Japanese internment.   

Our next board meeting is April 13. Find all agendas, videos, and how to participate at mdusd.org/boardmeetings.

Superintendent Friday Letters

If you are a community member or leader who does not receive the Friday letters directly in your email, I recommend you view them at https://mdusd.org/superintendent. They are full of successes that you can share out to your network to champion our local public schools, and the Organizational Updates there show reports from every department from facilities to fiscal. 

The March 18th letter included: A closer look at three Teacher of the Year finalists; District news including Teamsters Union reaches Tentative Agreement; Ygnacio Valley High's Robotics Team hosts "Robot Reveal"; Staff News and Social Media Shout-outs; Student Athlete spotlights, important dates, and more!  

The March 25th letter included: Students advocate for a mascot change and honorary diplomas for those interned during WWII at recent School Board meeting; the community mourns the loss of a YVHS student; District news including Riverview MS Tree Planting Day was a success and MDUSD is hiring for many different positions; School news including actor and comedian Zooms into Northgate Film Studies Class.

Next blog - How to Increase Funding for our Public Schools

Stay tuned for my next blog, where I will write in detail about ways that we can all advocate for increased funding for our public schools.  We've heard from so many parents, teachers, and community members who passionately believe that our schools should be offering more - more music, counseling, nursing, smaller class sizes. Our school board agrees, but has had to carefully balance student offering and salary raises within the confines of finite resources and declining enrollment.  Together we can make a difference, whether locally via the nonprofit MDUSD Education Foundation, or through state advocacy with groups like Evolve California.

Happy 2022 everyone. It sure has been a tough start to the year with the Omicron variant. The good news is that our schools here in Mt Diablo Unified remain open, thanks to the "all hands on deck" amazing dedication and hard work of so many teachers, staff, administrators and volunteers. 

This included handing out over 50,000 free COVID home tests to students in December and January, ramping up PCR COVID testing sites even more, communicating out new guidance from county health, and filling in for each other when staff are out quarantining.  Our district will also soon receive and distribute N95 masks from the state to all staff.  

Tonight is our first general school board meeting of 2022, which will include consideration of raising substitute pay (hourly rate plus a $1,000 bonus), resolutions for MLK Jr day and Human Trafficking Prevention month, revision of high school English courses, and key reports on Maintenance & Operations and Facility Assessment.

Read on for:

• Substitute Jobs & Open Job Listings to Share
• La Clinica COVID vaccine & booster appointments open TODAY & Friday
• January 7th Superintendent Friday Letter
• January 12th School Board meeting
• Human Trafficking Prevention month resources

Substitute Jobs & Open Job Listings to Share

YOU can help us keep our schools open! The District encourages parents and community members to consider becoming substitute teachers in the District and to share information about these opportunities with friends and neighbors. Please click here for the job description, which lists the current pay rates: rebrand.ly/MDUSDSubs). More information about the requirements to become a substitute teacher in the District is here.

Plus, there are many open jobs in our district for all levels of skills & experience, part-time or full-time, so please share this link far and wide as well: EDJOIN.ORG/MTDIABLO

We look forward to welcoming new members to #TeamMDUSD!

La Clinica COVID vaccine & booster appointments open TODAY & Friday

Please get your COVID vaccine or booster to keep our communities as healthy as possible. Vaccines.gov is a great place to find one near you.

We are pleased to share that La Clinica Monument in Concord has COVID-19 immunization appointments available for Moderna and Pfizer 1st and 2nd doses, boosters and Pfizer vaccines for children ages 5-11 years today, Wednesday (Jan. 12) and Friday (Jan. 14) from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Appointments are required.

To make an appointment, please call (925) 510-1226.
La Clínica Monument is located at 2000 Sierra Road, Concord CA, 94518

January 7th Superintendent Friday Letter

This Jan 7th letter is chock full of information and good news to celebrate, including:

A Concord High teacher is honored at a 49ers game, Congrats to the Fall Mt. Diablo Adult Education Surgical Technologist Grads, District news including the distribution of rapid COVID tests and future school year calendars coming soon, Student Board Member Spotlight, important dates and the Superintendent's Weekly Organizational update.

Jan 12th School Board meeting

Here is tonight's January 12 board meeting agenda. The meeting is in person at Monte Gardens as usual. Find all agendas, videos, and how to participate at mdusd.org/boardmeetings.

Human Trafficking Prevention Month Resources

Please share the Human Trafficking tip line: 925-957-8658.  Visit cocofamilyjustice.org or at loveneverfailsus.com for local help, resources, and educator training.

This is my last week as President of the Mt Diablo School Board, and the annual board reorganization will occur at our December 8th meeting. I am so appreciative of my fellow board members and Superintendent Clark, for their willingness to work as a team on the shared vision of providing excellent education to all students. And we are all deeply thankful to every teacher, admin, and staff member who give so much every day to make this vision a reality, even through the struggles of a global pandemic.

Last week I attended the state school board association conference, where I enjoyed celebrating our Holbrook Language Academy with Principal Rubio, teacher Karen Hernandez, and Superintendent Clark!   MDUSD was awarded a Golden Apple Award in recognition of the excellent educational opportunities provided to students districtwide by this two way dual language immersion school.

The conference had excellent speakers, including a panel of student board members, as well as Dr. Victor Rios who spoke on equity and promoting prosperity for at-promise students.  I was also very impressed by a workshop on mental health for teachers/staff/students featuring the Stanslaus County Office of Education Lifeguard Initiative and the CareSolace solution that “calms the chaos of mental healthcare”.

Read on for:

1. School Board meeting December 8th
2. Superintendent’s message
3. SMART - secure guns to keep youth safe
4. Free Hour of Robot Activities for CSEdWeek
5. Congratulations, La Clinica!

School Board Meeting December 8, 2021

Our board meeting will be at Monte Gardens Elementary. The agenda has a lot of important items including: 

• Appointment of Vice Principal to Bel Air and Rio Vista Elementary
• Staff Presentation on TUPE - Tobacco Use Prevention Education Support for Students
• Progress report on District Strategy Technology Plan
• Fiscal Health Progress Monitoring report

• Board reorganization with election of new President and Vice President
• review School Plans for Student Achievement - find your school plan here
• Approval of First Interim Financial Report - read finance update here 
• review of draft calendars for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years
• update to the District's Suicide Prevention Policy

Find details here. You may send a public comment via email to [email protected] or come in person to make a Public Comment during the meeting.  

Superintendent’s Message

Read Dr Clark’s December 3rd Friday message here, including: 

• information about the Golden Bell Award received by MDUSD for the Holbrook Language Academy;
• the District's budget to be discussed at the Dec. 8 School Board meeting;
• School News including art activities at several elementary schools, a robotics club at Ygnacio Valley High, and the Adult Education Annual Open House and Art Sale;
• the Concord tree lighting featuring two District school groups, and Concord youth commissioner openings;
• a District reminder about the Homeless Outreach Program for Education (HOPE) holiday drive;
• Student spotlights on two Northgate High students;
• a Staff Spotlight on MDUSD's Food and Nutrition Services Director;
• important dates; and
• the Superintendent's Weekly Organizational update.

Be SMART - secure guns to keep youth safe

The recent school shooting tragedy in Michigan is another reminder that secure gun storage is essential to keeping our schools and communities safe. State Superintendent Tony Thurmond stated in a 2019 letter, “District and school administrators must help educate parents and guardians about California’s child access prevention laws; it is a crime for a person to negligently store or leave a loaded firearm in a place where a child is likely to access it.”

BeSMARTforKids.org reduces child gun deaths by encouraging responsible storage of guns and providing free gun locks.

• Secure all guns
• Model responsible behavior around guns
• Ask about presence of unsecured guns in other homes
• Recognize the risks of teen suicide
• Tell your peers to be SMART

Free Hour of Robot Activities for CSEdWeek

Celebrate CSEdWeek with Hour of Robot!

Computer Science Education Week (December 6-10, 2021) is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn computer science, advocate for equity, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field. Visit https://www.csedweek.org/ for resources & activities.

As part of CSEdWeek, the UC Davis C-STEM Center and its partners have put together a series of fun and engaging "Hour of Robot" activities that can be done using either on-screen virtual robots or hardware robots. The activities are divided into K-12 grade levels and do not require previous computing knowledge or experience. They're a great way to introduce students to computing and robotics, while also learning some math along the way, so be sure to check out the Hour of Robot home page http://www.hourofrobot.org!

1. Anyone can organize an Hour of Robot event anywhere freely
2. No experience needed
3. Hardware robot is optional

Congratulations, La Clinica!

Senator Steve Glazer recognized La Clinica today as nonprofit of the year for region 7. I was happy to attend in appreciation of La Clinica and all they do to provide affordable, culturally appropriate healthcare in our community and schools. They have been a crucial part of making COVID testing and vaccines accessible to our students and families, both at their monument location and at our school sites. They also offer all kinds of healthcare and dental care and CoveredCA is located in their building to help make sure everyone can access health insurance too. Plus, they have volunteer and internship opportunities.  Be sure to share this excellent resource - https://laclinica.org/