Are you ready to celebrate #HispanicHeritageMonth? How about #HighSchoolVoterEducationWeeks?  Both begin today!

Read on for specifics on:

1. School Board meeting tonight
2. School District Friday letter
3. High School Voter Education Weeks starts today
4. Yes on Prop 15: Schools & Communities First
5. How to Get Involved / Resources for
   • Students - apply for student School Board position - due Sept 18! 
   • Parents - input meetings Sept 17, 22, 23
   • Teachers - Hispanic Heritage teaching tools, equitablemath.org 

School Board Meeting Tonight, Sept 14, 6pm

Tonight’s school board meeting includes Resolutions to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month as well as Suicide Prevention, appointments of two principals, and a public hearing on the renewal of Rocketship Futuro Charter School. 

Find the agenda here, and look at the agenda header for information about the live broadcast and the opportunities for public comments.

MDUSD Friday letter Sept 11

This MDUSD Friday letter is once again chock full of information for you: from the Organizational Update to the student board member application, from the upcoming college fair Sept 29th to Suicide Prevention resources and COVID testing.

High school Voter Education Weeks Starts Today

From CA Dept of Education: California Education Code designates the last two weeks in September as High School Voter Education Weeks. We encourage schools to designate students as voter outreach coordinators to lead the efforts to pre-register and register their peers.

Students, visit https://registertovote.ca.gov/ to register or pre-register to vote. 

It is now easier than ever to get sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds civically engaged through pre-registration. Once pre-registered, they will automatically become active voters on their eighteenth birthday.

Administrators, students, and parents: visit the Secretary of State’s High School and Youth Initiatives web page portal, which includes important information about voter registration and pre-registration, the Student Mock Election, the Student Poll Worker program, and High School Voter Education Weeks: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/high-school-programs/.

Yes on Prop 15: Schools & Communities First

Did you see that Governor Gavin Newsom endorsed Prop 15 Schools & Communities First? 

“Because it exempts small businesses and residential property owners, and funds essential services such as public schools…”

It has been estimated that MDUSD would receive $18 million more per year if Prop 15 passes. What a difference that would make!  That is why our MDUSD School Board voted unanimously on a resolution in support of this measure. Visit https://www.yes15.org/ for more details and to join the campaign. 

How to Get Involved / Resources for 

Students:

Click here to apply for the new MDUSD Student Board Position. Applications are due by September 18, 2020. 

 Note that a successful Student Board Member must:

*  Be currently enrolled as a senior (grade 12) in a MDUSD high school

*  Hold and maintain a minimum 2.0 grade point average

*  Be enrolled in 20 credits

*  Be available to attend all scheduled Board meetings (typically two per month)

*  Provide one letter of recommendation from a teacher, administrator, or community member

Student Members will serve from October 2020 - June 30, 2021.   Applications will be reviewed by the MDUSD Executive Cabinet and a finalist will be interviewed by the MDUSD Board of Education.

Parents:

Our district has ongoing committee meetings that you are welcome to attend!

Find details at mdusd.org at Parents & Community / Get Involved.  Next meetings:

Sept 17th:

• Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) -  3:30-5pm
• District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) - 5:30pm
• Measure J Oversight - 5pm
• Measure C Oversight - 7pm

Sept 22nd: Stay tuned for a Board Study Session, likely to be scheduled Sept 22nd, including a Hearing on the Learning Continuity Attendance Plan (LCAP) - report that is due to the state by Sept 30. Our MDUSD board will vote to approve the final report draft at our Sept 28th school board mtg.

• Find report templates in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese here: https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/lc/learningcontattendplan.asp
• Provide your input on the LCAP via PAC or DELAC meetings this Thursday Sept 17, or at the Sept 22 hearing, or email to [email protected]

Sept 23:

• Budget Advisory Committee  (5pm)  

Need help getting school supplies, tech, internet? Remember to contact your school and ask for help. We want to make sure all students have what they need for successful distance learning.

Teachers: 

Thank you teachers for sharing your fantastic ideas on Twitter!

• I love seeing cultures represented in our classrooms like this Bitmoji one from Holbrook 

• Teaching Tolerance just posted how to bring Latinx voices into the classroom and uplift a diverse range of Hispanic & Latinx identities, experiences, cultures and histories.  Perfect for our #HispanicHistoryMonth resolution
• check out equitablemath.org - “A pathway to equitable math instruction” Resources and guidance to support Black, LatinX, and Multilingual students to thrive in grades 6-8
• And Dr Nadine Burke Harris - our wonderful CA surgeon general - authored Trauma is Written into our Bodies, but Educators can Help - “Educators can deliver the daily doses of healing interactions that truly are the antidote to toxic stress.  Giving children the tools to understand how to recognize what’s going on with them, then how to respond - especially to be able to calm their bodies down - truly is healing.”