Happy Graduation 2021!  We are so very proud of every single graduate who persisted through the pandemic to complete all requirements, and we know you will go forward in your careers with competence and compassion. Thanks to City of Concord for broadcasting MDUSD graduations live on TV. Videos of the ceremonies are posted on the city YouTube channel here.

Great news! At our last school board meeting every action item passed with flying colors, from our resolutions about Jewish Heritage month and PRIDE month, to a $1500 stipend for staff in recognition of their hard work through a pandemic, to a $19 million grant submission for Extended Learning opportunities.  I am so full of hope about the coming year, and of gratitude to all who work so hard to make all of this possible.

The PRIDE flag now flies at district headquarters and at many of our schools to show students, employees and community that we welcome everyone. The PRIDE resolution goes beyond words to highlight actual board policies that govern transgender rights, proper use of pronouns, and staff training on these topics. Thank you to Claycord PFLAG and Rainbow Community Center for partnering with MDUSD to provide support and training to students and staff.  Going forward we hope to acquire a "progress" PRIDE flag for the district, and to ensure every school has a PRIDE flag to fly by next June.

Though the school year has ended, our board’s work continues this month with detailed fiscal, educational and technology plans.  See the June 9th meeting agenda for draft plans that have incorporated your input, as well as public hearings where you can still comment before the final approvals June 23rd.

Read on for:

1. School Board meeting June 9th

2. What is LCAP?

3. COVID vaccines at MDUSD schools for everyone 12+

4. Superintendent’s Friday letters

School Board Meeting June 9th

This week’s board meeting includes two key opportunities for your comments:

• Public Hearing of LCAP (local control accountability plan)

• Public Hearing of preliminary draft budget

The final versions of these will be voted on by the board at our June 23rd meeting.

Other key items on the agenda include:

• Recognition of student board member Michelle Alas

• Approval of contract for Northgate HVAC upgrades

• Presentation of equitable access to technology

• Review of draft district Strategic Technology Plan

Find the agenda and viewing/participation information here: https://mdusd.org/boardmeetings  The public may attend in person or view the livestream video.  Submit a public comment in person or via email to [email protected] . 

What is LCAP?

LCAP stands for Local Control Accountability Plan, and is required by the State of California. See MDUSD’s current draft and prior plans in English & Spanish at https://www.mdusd.org/lcap/lcapnews.

This year staff carefully incorporated recommendations from our recent CCEE Systemic Instructional Review. Community input for this plan was gathered in a variety of ways (see page 7-9 here). One goal I’ve had since before joining the school board is to more clearly involve a diverse range of parents, students, staff and community in key school & district decisions. While we have made significant improvements these last few years (e.g. translation, Friday letter, weekly Operational Report, ParentSquare, student board member, student advisory committee), there is much more to do.  See details on pages 35-40 of “Goal 3: Parents, family and community members will be informed, engaged and empowered as partners with Mt. Diablo Unified to support student learning and improve student outcomes.” This includes specifics such as “Actively recruit parents/ guardians of underserved student groups to be represented at all advisory meetings.”

Useful LCAP resources for you:

• California Department of Education website "Frequently Asked Questions" https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/lcffaq.asp 

• ED100's "What is the LCAP?" https://ed100.org/blog/lcap-hub.  This explains the 8 priority areas that all LCAP plans must cover and much more about how this plan intersects with school site plans and the complexities of state funding. It includes a PTA created checklist that can be used at the school site or district level.

COVID Vaccines at MDUSD schools

COVID-19 vaccine continues to be available on our school sites for anyone who is 12 or older. Concord High School, Ygnacio Valley High School and Mt. Diablo High School are hosting a no-cost clinic.  See the dates and times below.

Everyone is welcome, including students who are 12 or older, family members and members of the community.

La vacuna contra el COVID-19 está disponible para cualquier persona de 12 años de edad o mayor. Para ofrecer a nuestras familias la oportunidad de vacunarse, Concord High School, Ygnacio Valley High School y Mt. Diablo High School estará realizando una clínica de vacunación sin costo.  Vea las fechas y horas a continuación.

Todos son bienvenidos, incluyendo a los estudiantes de 12 años de edad o mayores, los miembros de sus familias y los integrantes de la comunidad. 

Find school flyers, forms and more in Dr Clark’s May 14th Friday letter here.

Superintendent's Friday letter

Click to read Dr Clark’s May 28th letter, and June 4th letter.  These letters and the Organizational updates within them contain details from all departments. Here are a few highlights:

Congratulations to all graduates, including the 291 Seniors who earned the California Seal of Biliteracy! The Seal is given to students who have demonstrated to be proficient in two or more languages. The requirements are rigorous and students need to demonstrate oral fluency proficiency as well as proficiency  in reading and writing in both languages.

Highlights from Adult Education include: In our Certified Nursing Assistant Program, we started with 15 students and anticipate we will have all 15 students graduate Friday, June 4th at 10:00 at the Loma Vista Adult Center.  The program was chosen as the model for the state in the Master Plan for Aging. We are currently part of the team through our Healthcare Career Pathway (HCP) model partnership presenting to Legislators a $5 million budget proposal to expand the HCP model to 6 counties in California.  Also as part of HCP we have food supports for our students.  Through our partnership with Loaves and Fishes we served over 300 meals to students and through the Contra Costa Food Bank we handed out over 3500 pounds of food, which included dry goods, fresh vegetables & fruit, dairy products, and frozen foods!  For the 2019-2021 Surgical Technologist Program (extended due to COVID): 12 of 13 finished the program and all 12 passed their National certification exam. We just finished an EMT cohort.  All students passed their final skills tests, are finishing their ride along requirements and then headed out to start their careers as first responders.  Despite the pandemic, our adult high school students, many of whom are parents, are finishing up their last high school equivalency tests and their last credits to be 2021 graduates.  

And congratulations to the MDUSD Food & Nutrition Services Department, which has been recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in their newly published Brief, "Healthy Eating Research''. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked for the last 45 years to improve the health and well-being of all Americans in the United States. The " Healthy Eating Research" Brief, evaluated and analyzed the benefits school districts performed around the country serving children and their families during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Mt. Diablo Unified School District Food & Nutrition Services Department, is one of three school districts from California highlighted in the Brief and analyzed the district's food service program for "Serving Multiple Meals at Once" and the high volume preparation of scratch-made meals served in multiple days to address Food Insecurity in the district's multiple communities.  Congratulations Food Services!

I hope you all are enjoying the start of summer break safely with family and friends!