PUHSD

Young Students Teach School Board How to Code

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 15:00:00 +0000

In March of the 2015-2016 school year, the Perris Union High School District announced ¹ that it will be joining a nine district consortsium partnership with Code.org which will bring professional development and curriculum to teachers and students exposing them to computer science from an early age throughout high school. Computer Science courses provided by the partnership with Code.org will be offered at PUHSD’s school sites in the 2016-2017 school year.

This partnership comes at the recognition of a pivotal shift in today’s job market. It is estimated that by the year 2024, there will be more than one million unfilled computer science related jobs in the U.S.² Currently, only one in four schools offers computer science even though nine out of ten parents polled around the U.S. stated that they want their students to learn computer science. Computer science drives innovation throughout the U.S. economy but remains marginalized throughout K-12 education (Code.org). PUHSD and eight other districts in the consortium decided not to neglect the responsibility of teaching students computer science.

PUHSD began introducing its students to computer science by participating in the international “Hour of Code” event created by Code.org. The purpose of this annual event is to expose students to the world of computer science and generate interest in the field by offering a free web based programming platform that anyone with a computer and internet connection could access. Last year, there were 198,474 Hour of Code events around the world reaching tens of millions of students. Since participating in “Hour of Code”, computer programming clubs began at every school in PUHSD to meet the growing interest among students. This year, Pinacate Middle School offered a technology course that taught multiple computer programming languages to over 500 students. With computer science courses being offered at every school site next school year, 1000’s of PUHSD students will learn to code and this is just the beginning.

When PUHSD joined the Code.org consortium, Dr. Greenberg stated, “As we know with coding, young people are teaching people my age how to do it. It’s kind of reverse of what we’ve done in public education in the past having older people teach younger people. What we need to learn in moving into this new age of education is that sometimes young people know more about what they’re doing than older people.” On Wednesday, May 18th, eight students from Pinacate’s technology classes taught district board members how to code during open session. Dr. Greenberg gave an opening address to the board detailing PUHSD’s plans to address the need for more computer programmers in the U.S. and then invited Pinacate’s young programmers to guide school board members through a coding activity. Being led by their teacher Mr. Erik Anderson, the students guided school board members on each member’s Chromebooks to the “Hour of Code” section on Code.org’s website where they first learned to code at the beginning of the school year.

Over the next ten minutes, the young programmers gave clues and tips to their adult students how to program and navigate the BB-8 robot from Star Wars around a field filled with obstacles. The code required started off simple but gradually increased in difficulty. With their young teacher’s help, the board members quickly passed multiple levels. School board President David Neilssen ended the activity with eight complete lessons with board members Edward Agundez, Joan Cooley, Dr. Jose Luis Araux, and Carolyn Twyman not far behind him.

PUHSD’s Governing Board continues to support a world class education that prepares students to be future ready and productive members of society.

¹ http://www.puhsd.org/blogs/headlines/posts/perris-union-joins-consortium-to-strengthen-commitment-to-computer-science
² https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/12/11/computer-science-everyone

Heritage High School - College and Career Readiness

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 15:00:00 +0000

Written by: Frank Arce, Principal, Heritage High School

I have been fortunate to work at many different schools. In my teaching and my administrative career, this is now the sixth high school that I’ve worked at. I have learned that all schools and their personnel; from teachers and classified staff, to counselors and the school administration; work diligently to give students opportunities to be successful in high school and have the opportunities to either pursue higher education or a productive career. We all always talk about a vision in wanting to create “lifelong learners” and promote “civic responsibility” as students become “productive members of our society”. Most schools have a shared mission of getting kids college and career ready. But, only exceptional schools actually have a systematic approach to targeting this specific goal. It’s exceptional schools like these that are driven in their programmatic decisions and meaningful experiences that are planned for students, that truly have a purposeful approach to getting kids ready for college, military, technical careers, or the workforce in general. Heritage High School is this type of exceptional school; Heritage High School is where this vision becomes action.

A Four Year Plan

CC BY 2.0
flickr.com/photos/dafnecholet/5374200948

All students at Heritage High School meet with school counselors well before they embark on their educational journey here. Counselors go out to the middle schools and discuss course options, A-G requirements for UC/CSU admission, and other critical ‘need-to-know” items. Counselors then meet individually with students to formulate a four-year plan based on individual students’ needs. These meetings and periodic check-ins with students take an enormous amount of time. But, our Model of Excellence Award-winning counseling staff know that this is the best way to ensure that students are ready and on-track for success. This is the Heritage Way.

A Strong Foundation

CC BY-SA 3.0 Daniel Case

Teachers play a critical role in aligning our goals for college and career readiness, with classroom standards for academics and social skills that are conducive to success. Every student at Heritage High School is in a Freshman Foundations class or an AVID 9 section. The class is meant to teach specific strategies that will help students with study habits and general high school expectations. At Heritage High School, we took this to another level. Each of our Foundations and Freshmen AVID sections are separated into teams. These teams compete against each other for positive school connectedness and engagement points. Students are given participation points as a class for being involved in a variety of on-campus activities and events. These can be anything from a football night tailgate barbecue, to our annual Back to School Night. Research indicates that student’s meaningful connections are critical to student success, and this Foundations class is a great way to target student involvement. Programs like LinkCrew, PLUS, and ASB also foster opportunities for social/academic skills development and high school success. It is the combination of all these programs, the genius of “and” versus the tyranny of “or”, that helps create a formula for academic success.

Choice in Pathways and Successful Programs

CC BY-SA 2.0 Des Blenkinsopp

It is also imperative to have choices for students in different pathways. The recently-adopted districtwide seven period schedule is a great way to ensure that students have equitable access to the curriculum. Students now have more opportunities to enroll in Fine Arts, World Languages, AP classes, Engineering classes, and other courses that would otherwise be limited with a shorter schedule. This was a great move towards students success. However, at Heritage High School, it is the variety of programs and pathways that continue to further drive student success. Heritage High School has a renowned and award-winning Agriculture/FFA program, with a pathway aligned to college admission. We are also building up our Project Lead The Way Biomedical Program, as well as Engineering. As an AVID National Demonstration school, the HHS AVID Site team works tirelessly to make sure that students are exposed to successful learning strategies and have access to college planning resources.

Events and Activities

Students at Heritage High School were all met from day one with lessons in planning for college and career readiness. Our Camp Legacy model, a one-day introduction to the school year with lessons on social and academic skills-building, is meant to frontload students with strategies and expectations that are needed to prepare for real-world applications of knowledge and skills. Throughout the year, we have Ag/FFA nights, AVID Parent Nights, College Fair, and other opportunities for students and their parents to engage in the learning process and plan for a college and career future. We are also in the beginning stages of planning a Career Fair and a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) community night. Student events such as the College Kickoff Day, College Application Night, and the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Night are all staff-guided events to help students prepare for higher education. Clubs and organizations like Key Club, Interact, National Honors Society, and others also contribute by fostering opportunities for community service and college awareness.

A LEGACY

One of the very unique aspects about Heritage High School is the building of a LEGACY cohort of students. LEGACY is modeled after our motto - Leadership, Excellence, Generosity, Academics, Character, and opportunitY. Our LEGACY students are on track to meet A-G requirements. Counselors meet with them individually and also pull out students for informational sessions. The goal is to move more and more students towards the LEGACY track and continue to prepare students for College and Career Readiness.

The African proverb - “It takes a village to raise a child” - is a philosophy that Heritage High School subscribes to at the core of what we do. People at Heritage High School are constantly thinking up more ways to reach students and promote college and career readiness. We continue to build on this vision from the bottom-up. Heritage High School staff doesn’t wait to ask WHY we should help students; they take action towards the HOW to achieve success.

PBIS at Pinacate: Putting the "P" in Positive

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 15:00:00 +0000

PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. It is a framework for how schools plan to improve school culture and discipline practices. This year, Pinacate Middle School has revamped their PBIS system, putting the “P” in “Positive”.

The school year began with 3 days of school-wide instruction on social skills. Every teacher at Pinacate in every class period, explicitly taught lessons on how to use and practice social skills. These lessons were developed by Pinacate’s PBIS committee. Some of these social skills include working well with others, accepting ‘No’ for an answer, using appropriate voice tone, and greeting others. Students learned how to apply 21 different social skills in various settings, especially a classroom setting. Rather than focusing on what not to do, social skills are worded positively in order to reinforce what the right action is to take in a situation. In this way, students have been explicitly taught how to act like responsible young adults and what positive behavior looks like.

Another positive change this year is the establishment of the Student Success Center. This room replaced the existing On Campus Suspension (OCS) room and is located in Pinacate’s discipline office. The Student Success Center (SSC) is staffed by a full time credentialed teacher. This teacher’s title is the “SSC Teacher”. If a student is showing repeated misbehavior, and after all classroom interventions have been tried, a teacher can refer a student to the Student Success Center. The SSC teacher meets with and counsels the student regarding the student’s misbehavior and the social skill(s) he/she has failed to practice. The SSC teacher then sets up a Teacher/Student Conference with the referring teacher. In this conference, the student is given an opportunity to “own up” to his/her behavior and commits to what behaviors he/she will change in the classroom. The teacher has a chance to talk to the student face-to-face, without other students around, and let the student know what is expected of them in the classroom. In a Teacher/Student Conference, the SSC teacher acts as a facilitator, ensuring that the student understands what the teacher is communicating. In these conferences, the SSC teacher also communicates to the student what the next steps are in the discipline procedures should the student’s behavior fail to change after the conference.

Teacher/Student Conferences have been successful in decreasing repeated referrals. Over half of the students who have had a Teacher/Student Conference with a teacher have not been referred to the discipline office again by that same teacher. The face-to-face conference with the referring teacher and the SSC teacher requires students to have a real and honest conversation about their behavior. Often times, teacher and student relationships are restored from these conferences, and misunderstandings between teachers and students are made clear.

To reinforce the practice of using proper social skills, a behavior tracking system was purchased. Pinacate is using a software platform to track positive behavior in the classroom. Teachers were trained on how to use the software and how to award students “Puma Points” for effectively practicing social skills in the classroom. Students also have been shown how to create a student account. Once they log in to their student account, students are able to check how many points they have earned, how many they’ve spent, and which teachers have awarded them points.

The students can spend these points at the newly opened Student Incentive Store. The Incentive Store is located in the Student Success Center. Various school supplies and snacks are sold during students’ lunches at the incentive store. The store opened on November 10, 2015. Since that time, over 200 students have visited and purchased items from the store using their Puma Points. On one particular day, over 45 students purchased items at the store during their lunches. As the school year progresses Pinacate is looking to see the number of students visiting the Incentive Store to grow.

What is next for PBIS at Pinacate? Next semester, every campus supervisor will have a portable device to track student behavior, both positive and negative. Tardy sweeps will take place where campus supervisors will use their devices to issue tardy passes using the behavior tracking system. One tardy equals a loss of one Puma Point. This will help motivate students to get to class on time. Also, campus supervisors will be looking for students who are being good role models around campus. These students will be awarded Puma Points for demonstrating positive behavior.

Pinacate Middle School continues to improve its PBIS framework. The PBIS committee meets monthly to discuss needed changes and tweaks to the system. All teachers are invited to have a voice on the PBIS committee. The committee has worked diligently to develop a school-wide PBIS framework that will be sustainable, data driven, and has an emphasis on positive intervention.

Unlocking Genius: One Special Needs Student at a Time

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 22:03:00 +0000

Written by: Chad Shaner

Curiosity took the better of me as I walked by Ms. Post’s moderate to severe functional skills class one recent afternoon. A quick glance revealed smiling students glued to Chromebook screens; one student clapping joyfully at his desk while others seemed unphased by his antics. Rachel Post, one of our special education teachers at Perris High School teaches a self-contained functional skills class for students with moderate to severe disabilities. Somebody who might not have known better might assume that students were cheering at an entertaining video on their Chromebooks, but knowing Ms. Post, I knew that wasn’t the case. Upon closer inspection, I saw visual coding blocks displayed on the overhead projector, and I knew I had to step inside.

Ms. Post excitedly told me that her students were using tynker.com, an online visual coding website that teaches kids basic programming logic through a drag and drop interface. What makes Tynker great is the gamified aspect, taking students through levels of greater complexity using compelling characters that the user navigates through a series of obstacles. Ms. Post’s students were fully engaged in the activity, challenging one another to see who could pass the next level first. I was enthralled that these students were learning basic computer science and had the ability to understand the logic behind the coding blocks, but I was not surprised. Having taught a special education computer applications class for several years, I know that many students with intellectual disabilities have talents that are locked away given a traditional classroom setting. But given the right tools and proper guidance, these students can blow you away with what they can create.

According to the United States 2010 Census, approximately 2.4% of school-aged children in Southern California have a cognitive disability, defined as a child having serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions. Given these statistics, it’s not difficult to see why these students represent an often forgotten and underserved population. Despite these challenges, special needs students in the Perris Union High School District are granted access to technology tools that minimize accessibility gaps and unlock hidden potentials. In addition to free online sources like Tynker, Ms. Post uses Khan Academy to help her students learn basic math facts, and text-to-speech Chrome extensions like SpeakIt! to make text accessible to her students.

Some might question the value of teaching introductory computer programming to students with intellectual disabilities, perhaps assuming that these students would never have the capability of becoming professional software engineers or game designers. I beg to differ. Many scholars have speculated on the presence of intellectual and psychological disabilities amongst some of the world’s greatest geniuses. In today’s app-driven world, all it takes is the release of a simple smart-phone game (case in point, Flappy Bird), to turn someone with a little coding knowledge into an instant millionaire. Regardless of disability, socioeconomic status, race, or gender, all it takes is a little knowledge, patient guidance, and access to technology to unlock anyone’s potential genius. Ms. Post told me that once her students get good enough at the guided games on Tynker, they will start moving on to designing their own games using platforms like Scratch. Don’t tell Ms. Post’s students that they can’t learn computer programming. They’re already doing it!

Chad Shaner served as a special education teacher for 15 years and currently serves Perris High School as an educational technology coach. Find him on Twitter: @Chad_Shaner

Digital Journalism at The Lake

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 18:07:00 +0000

Looking at a small group of students, hunched over their individual Scholar+ Chromebooks, you may wonder what they are doing? Is it a History assignment? Is it a project for Science? Perhaps an analysis for the latest assignment in English. At Perris Lake High School, this small group of students are working on the school newspaper.

The newspaper, Nest Times at Perris Lake, has been using its current format for the past 2 years. Using Haiku's Wiki Project forum, the students create individual ‘projects’ where they incorporate videos, links, text, and photos to create ‘mini’ Haiku pages on their selected topics. These pages are then reviewed by the Instructor, and edited, before the pages are copied to the main public page of the Nest Times.

Why go digital you may ask? Well, in these difficult times, schools, classes, and teachers are always striving for ways to provide opportunities for the students, but still stay within a budget. Going digital was the obvious answer for Perris Lake High School. Working closely with the Tech TOSA, the instructor was able to set up the basic structure of the online structure that exists today. As a teacher new to the district, the instructor had been on a learning curve with her students, and together they have explored many subjects. Along the way the students have learned to be more comfortable with the possibilities the Chromebook opens to them. They have learned to discern which websites provide the most current, reliable information, and which sites are best left alone. They have learned to explain their research to a casual observer and to give details to how it will be applied to their current article/project they are working on.

Students are allowed to pick their own topics, as long as they’re school appropriate. With a small class ranging from 11 - 25, and with students that stay on campus for only a maximum of two years, it is important to tap into the interests and concerns of these students while they are here. Their tastes are very eclectic. The first term projects were done in groups. While it generated positive results, switching to an individual format allowed students to focus more on their topics; it also provided a wider variety of information, topics, and ideas. Students are given the ‘rights’ to look at each other’s projects to generate ideas and to help each other when requested. Some students, who have been in Journalism in previous terms, are now proficient enough to help educate others. These students have become leaders within the class. At times, they have also helped to edit pages for final publication.

Collaboration on story ideas

One topic choice, that is promoted heavily, is what to do following completion of high school. Many students are using their projects to explore their choices beyond high school. For some of these students, college is not always their first choice. Having this opportunity to explore, about their different career possibles, gives students a better understanding about the type of education they will need. Many have discovered that some form of a college degree is required for advancement in most of their chosen fields. Also, they sometimes find that their personal interests have job/career aspects they had not known about before they started their research. Finding these job/career interests can motivate the student and increase their focus on their future.

Feedback from the site has not been set up yet. Some teachers have been generous with their praise, and their comments have been appreciated! In the near future, The Nest will be setting up ways to provide more accurate feedback. We are also looking to, perhaps, take requests on additional topics and materials the readers wish to see in the ‘paper’. In addition, the Nest has been exploring options to draw more attention to the Newspaper’s site - perhaps a specially designed icon, or a more interesting form to draw attention to the paper when individuals are visiting and perusing the Perris Lake High School home page. Next steps include establishing a Twitter account, attaching a link to the current Facebook account for PLHS, and to incorporate announcements that students will make daily. We wish to create a more socially savvy connection for both students and the community. The staff is also planning to learn more about Haiku and investigate new ways to enhance the paper and organize it to become a more fluid site that is easier to navigate.

The team of teachers at Perris Lake High School are always striving for new ways to connect with their students and create an environment that is supportive and nurturing. Their online newspaper is another way to ‘hear’ the voice of the students and give them their own unique voice through written expression.

Introducing Gabriela Zimmerman, Superstar Teacher at the Academy

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 22:44:00 +0000

It is with great pleasure that Perris Union High School District introduces Mrs. Gabriela Zimmerman, Social Science Intern for the Academy Community Day School. This is Gabriela’s first year as an intern. She has, however, substitute taught at the Academy for three years prior to entering a teaching credential program. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from CSU Dominguez Hills and is currently attending National University to earn her Teaching Credential in Social Science and Masters of Arts in Education.

Gabriela was raised in a single parent household. She is one of three children. After her father left when Gabriela was 12, her mother had to support the family on her own. With a middle school education, her mother had to work constantly and had little time for the family. Oftentimes, the children were left on their own. Gabriela’s older sister tried to take the role of parent, but eventually she left to attend college. Despite these obstacles, Gabriela and her siblings achieved great success. Her older sister entered the field of education, and is currently a teacher in the Greater Los Angeles area. Her younger brother entered the military.

Gabriela had her challenges growing up. Yet, she took these challenges as opportunities to grow. Gabriela’s older sister was a great role model and inspiration. When her sister left for college, Gabriela became motivated to do the same. She wanted to be just like her big sister.

Gabriela decided that she wanted to help students that “needed a little extra support and attention”. She also wanted to share her love for history with others. She no sooner found herself at the Academy Community Day School in the Perris Union High School District.

Gabriela hopes that students realize that it is never too late to change. She encourages students to achieve their goals in life. She stated that they do not have “to attend college or become doctors, but just get their life in order and become productive citizens of society.” Further, Gabriela stated that “I want students to find happiness in whatever they choose to become”.

When asked what she loves most about her job Gabriela explained, she loves the flexibility of getting to know the students. In addition, she explained that she loves being able to work closely with her principal to improve the school.

Currently, Gabriela is the Title I Lead, the English Learner (EL) Lead, and the Parent Engagement Leadership Initiative (PELI) Lead at the Academy. She assists in improving parent engagement at the site and district level. She recently participated in the district’s first Latino Family Literacy College Readiness session on November 3, 2015. She is always willing to help students by offering her time to reteach, tutor or counsel them. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. Gabriela was honored as the Certificated Employee of the month during September 2015.

Gabriela is genuine, passionate, courageous, valiant and graceful. She exemplifies great teaching. She is a role model to our students, staff, parents and district. Through her actions, she conveys the message that if she made it, they too can make it. We are proud to have Gabriela Zimmerman as part of the Academy family. Our site, and district are fortunate to have her positively impacting the lives of our students and their families.

Reblog - Solving Systems by graphing? 360 Degree Math is the Best!

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 15:00:00 +0000

Original Author: Princess Choi

This year is a very exciting year for me. I have six Algebra 1B classes and one Algebra 2 class. Algebra 1B consists of sophomores and upperclassmen who need to complete second semester of Algebra 1 throughout the whole year. Not too many teachers receive the gift of coaching the students who don't "play school" very well. To make sure I use this opportunity wisely, I made a list of things I need to follow at all times.

This article is reposted with permission from Ms. Princess Choi, Math Teacher at Perris High School. The original post can be found on her blog "http://mathprincessc.blogspot.com/2015/11/solving-systems-by-graphing-360-degree.html"

Model for less than 5 minutes
ALL work done while in classroom
Make videos and work available online for frequently absent/sick students or for ones who want to review at home
Always monitor student work

I quickly learned one of the best ways to accomplish this was through 360-degree-math (vertical non-permanent surface work) and student-created-posters and videos. Many of my students do not have notebooks and even if I provide one, they rip off the pages for other classes or lose the notebook. The poster idea was great, except when it's time for them to present, other students did not pay attention like they are supposed to. The student-created videos are exceptional, I really believe in using that for instruction. But most of my students give up after they make their second or third mistake during their recording and choose not to upload their video to their Youtube channel. (This is a blog for another day.)

My students love writing on the boards. Since the majority of my students don't keep notes or work at home, I wanted to increase the frequency of 360 degree math usage in my room.

This is how I usually do it.

(Keep in mind that teachers who use 360 degree math do it in many different ways. In case you want to tweet the tweeps I know are using this, here is @tbed63, a 5th grade teacher, @AlexOverwijk, a math teacher in Canada who did a presentation on this at #TMC15. I also know @edcampOSjr is using this. I hope I'm not forgetting anyone else. )

I have students work in groups of 2. I like having two students work together because throwing ideas at each other makes working on tasks so much more fun. I have each student pick a different color marker. They have to write their names up on top of the board above their head. Last name comes first, then the first name. Since I can only see the backs of my students, I can't tell which ones are doing well and which ones need assistance. So the name on the board is a crucial piece. I stand in the middle of the room. I use my projector and my bamboo tablet to show how to graph a basic linear equation. This takes less than 2 minutes. Then I give them another equation. I tell them, "partner 1 in the group, please graph this equation. You may consult your partner." I write the new equation on my computer that is projected. They get loud and things go on their boards. I identify struggling groups and approach them to assist them. I try my best to go around the whole class and tell them "great job!" if it's done correctly. Then I give them a new equation and have partner 2 graph it. Afterwards, I tell them that I'm giving them a challenge.

"Let's see who really got this. Partner 1 or 2."

They get excited. I tell one person in the group to graph the first equation.
Then I tell them not to erase the graph. On the same board, I tell the second partner to graph the second equation. They feel confused. Some ask, "Are you sure we don't erase the first graph?" but follow through.

I tell them, "I want to tell you the truth. I know both partners got it and it's okay if you worked together for both graphs. This wasn't a competition. I just wanted to teach you my lesson for today. We learned how to graph a system of equations!"

Then I ask them where they think the answer would be. They look at their board. Some kids remember what the answer is from their previous years in Algebra 1. Pretty soon the whole class picks up the answer from that one child since all students can see each other's answers. I teach them how to write their answer in coordinate form.

Then I give them practice questions. It's the same rule. One partner graphs the first equation, the second partner graphs the second equation, then they write the answer together. I don't necessarily have to help every group. They see each other's boards and self correct and learn. But this time, they do 4 questions on their board space. So they have to divide up their board space into 4 parts to solve them. (I don't have a sample from solving systems of linear equations, so I'm posting a picture of practice questions from solving linear inequalities. )

If we tell our students to take notes in their notebooks on their desk, some students will have their eyes on their desk and their pencil will be moving, but when you get to their desk, all you see is doodles. Some students are just brave and they do nothing.

Similar things happen with 360 degree math. Some students refuse to get out of their desk and stand next to the board. They don't want to do anything. Some students write their name on the board, but start doodling. Great thing here is that I get to see that immediately and I get them back on task or call their parents. Some students write their names on the board, then stand leaning on the board. They do it very strategically in cramped areas. So it takes me a while to identify those. But I have chosen to work with the 33 students who are working on the board actively rather than the three students who are not. I still talk to them about it after class.

Some students are scared of being wrong, so they wait until that one child gets their graph done, then copies it. I'm okay with that. I just try to remember who that child is, then I talk to them about being confident and about having fun when you are wrong.

This is a great way to identify the students who really get it. When these students get the same question wrong on a test, I pull them out and ask them why they got it wrong. Usually they tell me tests scare them. I give them credit for the question if they can show me how to solve it right then and there as we are having our conversation.

To summarize, 360 degree math is a great tool for any math lesson, but I wanted to show you an example on how I used it in my class for solving systems using graphing. 360 math is great for formative assessment, error analysis, creating a social environment, lessening math anxiety and promoting group work.

I hope this answers your question on how I might be utilizing the boards all around my room. Please tweet me up at @MathPrincessC if you have any questions that I didn't address in this blog. And finally, I wanted to thank a few people in the district who helped me purchase and install boards all around my room. You know who you are. Many thanks for supporting my work and believing in me.

HHS Ag Students - Building Future Leaders

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Heritage High School offers an amazing agriculture program that is A-G (college entry requirement) approved which provides a pathway to the University of California and California State University college systems. The agricultural program program includes chemistry, biology, earth science, floral design, and leadership. The most impressive aspect of our agricultural program is the family environment that is nurtured by the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program. At any given time, one can observe a group of Agricultural students, our “Ag kids” as we affectionately call them, walking in cowboy boots and displaying their competition belt buckles with pride.

Ag students take their role as future leaders seriously. They can always be found before and after school caring for their projects, making sure that pens are clean, well stocked with bedding, and that the animals have clean food and water daily. When HHS receives new enrollments, the parents and students can take a tour of the campus including the farm. HHS can always count on an Ag student to take the family on a tour of the various projects. They are so knowledgeable and proud of the work they, as well as others in the Ag family, and what they accomplish. Seeing teenagers work with their hands, talk with each other, and work with a smile and a purpose, is reassuring of our future.

An example of kindness and caring demonstrated by HHS Ag students involved a recent lunchtime activity. The school was playing music in the quad as several special needs students began dancing and laughing. A very small group of students began to make derogatory comments about the special needs students. Our Ag kids, understanding the importance of L.E.G.A.C.Y., the “L” standing for leadership, quickly stood up along with the whole lunch table and explained “we don’t use those words and phrases at Heritage High School.” School personnel saw the crowd gathering and rushed over but no intervention was necessary. Staff stood nearby and beamed proudly knowing that the Ag kids upheld the tradition of Leadership, Excellence, Generosity, Academics, Character, and opportunitY (LEGACY). Heritage High School is so grateful for the character instilled in these young people and proud that they stand up for those who can’t always stand up for themselves.

In the late 1990s there was a television show titled “Kids Say the Darndest Things”. Truer words were never spoken. At any given time on campus you can hear the most interesting conversations between young minds. Some conversations revolve around the current debates in politics, current events, or fashion. We like to think that as our student body learns more about the environment and our sustainability, they learn about social environments and our social sustainability and pass it on to others. This is why we were so impacted by the behaviors these young men and women displayed by caring for those who cannot care for themselves. That’s what you learn when you care for animals... and each other.

Coding is a Huge Hit with Pinacate Students!

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 18:59:00 +0000

Submitted by: Erik Anderson

Over the past 2 months, I have exposed my 7th and 8th grade Technology students to 3 different coding platforms: Scratch (along with Google CS First), Code Combat, and Codecademy. As the year has progressed, the “results” from my perspective have been getting more and more exciting (though I have not given a single quiz or test for a grade). Here is a detailed recap of the past 3 months, and a reflection on why I think this year is so super successful despite the lack of “evidence” that has been traditionally demanded of teachers in the era of NCLB.

I chose Scratch and CS First as the introductory coding unit because I thought that this would be a good way to scaffold the logic and analysis, and persistence, required to write good code when ultimately you are staring at nothing but a blank screen and a command prompt. I had the students work on projects in the CS First unit “Social Media”, wherein they learned how to drag and drop blocks of code to create and call variables, produce loops, and the like. This project-based unit did not demand that students learn any specific coding language, but focused on developing a more basic understanding of the connection between the magic of command (input) and result (output). Most of the assets with which students worked were pre-supplied and organized by the program: sprites and different characters, tools, and even the commands themselves. And, though the accompanying videos spelled out every step of every project, there was still plenty of room for students to stretch their understanding and to demonstrate their creativity in each project. However, this platform has proven to be the least engaging of the three on which students have begun to spread their coding wings. But, still, I think it whetted their appetites for what has happened since.

Code Combat was next, and a step in the right direction in terms of getting students to engage with the material and to get enthused about their performances. Code Combat is an outstanding platform that teaches students a specific coding language (I chose to have the students work in Python). To learn the language, students select a hero, which they maneuver through a series of levels in a Dungeons and Dragons style video game. To complete each level, students must write the proper code to make their hero move, wield a weapon, use a shield, and find treasure. If their code is wrong, their hero can’t make it to the end of the level. As a student’s hero completes more and more levels, he (or she) starts to acquire more and more gems, which the hero can use to purchase upgraded weaponry, armor, and clothing. All of these items carry the power of advanced coding options, which make completing each level easier. The better and more advanced equipment one possesses, the more coding options one has for completing each level. This basic structure keeps students’ motivation extremely high to continue in the game, and makes achievement highly rewarding. I am so glad, in retrospect, that I have not ruined this with direct instruction and formal checks for understanding.

I have chosen specifically to run this technology class as a self-paced, project-based class. That is, I will communicate to students at the beginning of every unit the “rubric” on which their grade will be based. (For example, for Code Combat, I told students that they were required to complete a certain number of levels for an ‘A’, for a ‘B’, etc.). From this point forward, and after as little direct instruction as I can get away with and still be certain that no one is completely confused, students are largely on their own to complete their work as they are able. I float as a helper, but mostly do not offer help unless asked. I feel that this is critical for students at this age level (and maybe every age level), as this builds so many excellent personal qualities. Among them, self-reliance, resourcefulness, and time management – and for those students who are excelling, a burgeoning sense of self-esteem and belief in themselves that no amount of direct instruction or checking for understanding could possibly have generated. In fact, I think that these techniques would have poisoned the environment of exploration and discovery, and sharing, that most students are now thriving in.

I should know, because I taught mathematics in that old way for 9 years prior to this assignment. But I never saw, in all of that time, as many happy student faces or as much authentic enthusiasm to succeed as I have seen in these past 3 months, as I have let students dictate the pace of their own learning and stretch to perform as they are comfortable. I am thankful that my colleague, Mark Synnott, and I have found so many excellent, online resources that automatically track student progress and build into their systems of learning a continuous check for understanding in which students are not even aware that they are participating. I do not not need to test them to know that they are progressing and learning. The fact that they have moved from one level to the next is all the evidence I need.

So, rather than feeling that I am abandoning good teaching in leaving behind that model of direct instruction and direct testing that is supposed to affirm whether students have learned what the teacher wants them to learn, I feel that I am embracing the best kind of teaching that is possible.

Which brings me to the most recent unit that students have completed, and easily the most successful in terms of engagement and achievement this year: the HTML/CSS course at Codecademy. For the first time, students in this unit were faced with a blank screen and a command prompt. Each lesson in the course provides a small chunk of new learning, for example a new tag or small set of tags, and then students are asked to type these new tags in the code console (of course in the proper order). Students can see the effects of their efforts immediately in a mini-browser in the upper right portion of their screen, which gives them feedback as to the correctness of their code.

Students have responded to this unit in such a way that, as I think about it now, actually gives me chills. It is the way that education should be, all the time and in every subject. I have seen the most struggling students working hard to make progress; I have seen the most advanced students absolutely blow the doors off of my wildest expectations and far surpass them; I have seen large numbers of students helping their classmates and thereby deepen their own understanding; I have also witnessed a majority of students elect to work vs. take free time. Let me repeat that again. Last Friday was Halloween. I was in costume, as were a number of students. I had already told them that I did not expect that Friday would be a very productive day. So, at the beginning of each class, I gave them a choice. They could either continue to work, or do whatever they wanted on their devices. In every class (keep in mind this is middle school), more than half of all students chose to work, and I had a steady stream of students coming up to my desk to ask for help in completing their HTML lessons.

So, if anyone asks, yes, this year is going very well! I am thankful to my site administration and the district technology team, who together are encouraging me to take this path. I am thankful that so much infrastructure is already in place, like 1:1 devices, excellent wi-fi, and a crack team of tech support. All together, we are making the miracle happen: we are providing engaging content that excites and motivates students, and we are carving out the opportunities for them to take it is far as they possibly can. AND THEY ARE.

Isn’t that what we all got into this business for in the first place?

Submitted by: Erik Anderson

Original post https://pumatech.wordpress.com/2015/10/31/coding-is-a-huge-hit-with-pinacate-students/

PUHSD’s Full Inclusion, Full Access Model for Special Education

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 15:00:00 +0000

The Perris Union High School District (PUHSD) continues to be a state model for providing full inclusion, full access, and full opportunity for students enrolled in special education. All students in PUHSD deserve the best and we provide the best. Nationwide, we see a call for equal opportunity for all people in all walks of society. Schools are no exception to this call. In past decades, students with disabilities were often sent to “special schools” in America. If allowed to remain on campus, special ed students were often relegated to isolated portable classrooms on the edge of campuses which segregated them from the daily activities of regular ed students. Oftentimes, these students were not allowed to participate in the same courses as regular education students, much less enroll in classes that prepared them for college. This is not the American way and it is not the PUHSD way.

At PUHSD, we ensure that all students have the opportunity to not only earn a high school diploma, but also graduate A-G eligible and are ready to apply for college if they choose. For those students choosing the career world, our rigorous school-to-career curriculum prepares them to compete for jobs in our society. At PUHSD, all special ed students are challenged to take regular ed classes alongside regular ed students. Our special ed students are not held back and excluded. Instead, they are pushed forward and included.

For students seeking to earn a diploma, students participate in six periods of regular academic and elective courses designed to prepare them for college and the career world. Students are encouraged to take A-G college prep courses alongside their general education classmates. Depending on their disability, their core academic classes are taught by a general education teacher alone or a general education teacher with support from a special education teacher or a paraeducator. All educators in the classroom work collaboratively, meeting the needs of all students, not simply those in special education. This additional support allows special ed students to be successful in the general education environment. With this “push-in, full-inclusion” model of instructional delivery, special ed students are exposed to rigorously challenging curriculum. During seventh period, special ed students take a study skills class called Student Organization and Resource (SOAR). This class is designed to help special ed students stay organized and prepared for all of their classes. The course is taught by the student’s special education case manager which gives them daily access to this vital person everyday.

Special education students who will not earn a high school diploma, but function in high enough cognitive levels to live independently in society, are enrolled in as many core academic and elective courses as possible. These students are often referred to as “Special Day Class” students. They have a case manager who has a classroom that serves as their “home base.” However, these students are mainstreamed into as many general education courses as they can manage during the school day. Typically, these students begin by enrolling in physical education, Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC), art, and music courses. Initially, the content may be intimidating for some of the students, but as the semester progresses, they learn to adjust and handle the content. In addition, they learn that they can take classes alongside general education students and learn that they don’t have to remain in the same classroom throughout the entire school day. In some cases, these students will take a core Math or English course with their case manager. Consistent with our PUHSD philosophy, when mainstreamed into regular classes, these students are included in challenging activities along with other college prep and diploma-bound students. In most cases their grades are modified, however, they are still exposed to the same high-level instruction as those students who are preparing for college. As a result of this “full access and full-inclusion” philosophy, we often see students who had not planned to earn high school diplomas be successful in earning a diploma. Students who don’t earn diplomas end up transferring to one of three local “18-22 Year-Old Life Skills Transition” programs. By exposing these students to rigorous courses in our high schools, our students often thrive in the local “18-22 Year-Old Life Skills Transition” programs.

Students who are enrolled in our severely handicapped program also experience the full access and full-inclusion atmosphere. Severely handicapped students are assigned to a severely handicapped teacher and classroom. This classroom serves as their “home base” during the day. In this facility they can attend class, eat lunch, and socialize with others. However, they are not required to complete those activities in this room all day. In fact, our severely handicapped students are encouraged to leave the room with supervision and eat lunch in the quad with the general education students. They are also encouraged to visit the library and student store and socialize with as many students and staff as possible. By encouraging our severely handicapped students to be out on campus, they are learning to interact with others. Just as equally important, our general education students and staff members are learning to interact with our severely handicapped students. Our full access and full-inclusion model prepares everyone on our campuses for living and interacting together in society.

Sports Challenge

In terms of campus activities and extracurricular activities, our special education students are invited and encouraged to attend athletic events, take roles in plays, participate in pep rallies, and participate in community service activities. Oftentimes, special needs students are some of the most excited fans at our athletic events. Each year, the PUHSD holds the “Sports Challenge,” a Saturday field event where our severely handicapped students have the opportunity to participate in different athletic events. These events are hosted by athletes from different athletic teams in our schools. The event is well attended by students and spectators and serves as another example of our district’s effort to include all students in school activities.

PUHSD hosts a districtwide prom specifically for our special needs students. Students dress-up, eat together, socialize, and of course, dance together. It’s an exciting event where our students feel safe and supported. In addition, our special needs students are also encouraged to attend the regular prom at their home school. In most cases, the special needs students attend as groups and are escorted by their teachers and paraeducators. These proms are merely one more way to provide full access and full opportunity for our special needs students.

The Perris Union High School District values the education and experience of all students. Students enrolled in special education are constantly challenged, encouraged, and provided full access and full inclusion to the same opportunities as general education students. For this reason, PUHSD continues to stand as a model of equal opportunity and equal success for all of our students. We encourage our community to provide ideas as to how we can continue including our special education students in activities in our local schools and communities.

Kick Off to College 2015

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 14:00:00 +0000

On October 14, 2015 the Perris Union High School District implemented our first ever Kick Off to College all day event. This was first inspired by the Riverside County Office of Education and then organized internally by our guidance counselors from each school site across the district. College and career readiness is a huge focus in every school across the nation, especially when 90 percent of the fastest-growing careers need some form of training beyond high school.

The major push for the Kick Off to College event was raising awareness and helping students prepare for the next step in their education and career. This included: completing college applications, filling out financial aid paperwork, exploring potential careers with analysis from personality assessments, and participating in the PSAT assessment to measure progress toward college and career readiness. No matter the activity, students were able to personalize the experience and make it matter for their individual futures.

A few students also shared their perspectives on the Kick Off to College events and activities. A male and female student that were walking on campus spoke on how it had impacted them. The girl had glowing reviews. She enjoyed the activities and actually felt more excited about her future now that she had gone through this process. The male student remarked, “The only negative thing I could say, is that I wish I had this event my other 3 years of high school. It was good and I wish I did what the other 9, 10, and 11th graders got to do.”

A student from PUHSD posted a tweet thanking the organizers for supporting his college and career readiness preparations. In a follow up interview with the student he shared the his comments about the experience:

“Learning about the college application process was helpful because honestly, I wasn’t sure where to start. I knew what colleges were good to apply for, but this also helped me see which ones match up best for me and why. It helped me use my transcript and my interests to see what steps for next year would work well for me. Before that day I was super scared. Now I feel like I have some time, I can breathe. This has made the college opportunity more like a reality for me.”

One of the ASB officers at a PUHSD school also shared some of her thoughts:

“I was learning how to fill out college apps and FAFSA setup. My big takeaway was how important the application process was and making sure you do it correctly. Without this event I’m not sure that I would have been able to do as much preparation for college otherwise. I’m so glad I was at school today. It was brand new and I wasn’t sure what to expect good or bad. It was definitely great!”

The event was a huge success with teachers and staff across the district offering support and adapting to the needs of the students. Throughout the day, students, staff, and faculty were sharing over social media comments and pictures from the event with the hashtag #KOTC15. Our district flooded the stream with positive messages, gratitude, and excitement about looking forward to the next step.

Below is a collection of some of those tweets.

If Haiku is the Windshield - Infinite Campus is the Rearview Mirror

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Students and parents have always struggled with maintaining an effective way to keep on top of daily academic responsibilities. When our students were in elementary school, remaining informed was much easier for parents or guardians. In the younger grades, there is only one teacher to communicate with and therefore, one system of communicating daily homework, upcoming projects, and assessments. In middle school, the use of a traditional student planner is a mixed bag of results. A planner works well for organized students but other students struggle when they are faced with multiple teachers who often use different systems for organizing their home to school communication. Of course, a traditional planner gets more complicated in high school. In high school, students have up to seven different teachers and in some cases teachers and parents are providing students less structure as they are expecting students to be more responsible and autonomous. The big question: Does the addition of online websites and apps for checking homework, assignments, grades, and attendance make all of this easier or more confusing? In the Perris Union High School District, we believe we have provided teachers, parents, and students with the technology to make this ongoing issue more manageable than ever.

PUHSD is proud of its Scholar+ program. All students are issued a Chromebook and utilize the Haiku Learning Management System (LMS), the Infinite Campus Portal, and Google Apps for Education. These tools allow student and parents to have 24/7 access to assignments, grades, email, and attendance records. Although there is a learning curve for all educational stakeholders (including school personnel), once oriented on these platforms, most people find these advancements easy to use and very convenient. Parents and students are encouraged to think of Haiku as their “educational windshield,” where one can see forward, such as current and upcoming assignments. The Haiku LMS homepage displays a student’s classes and announcements from teachers about important dates and deadlines. In class, students access Haiku and go directly to the teacher’s Haiku page for each period. Once there, students can find the day’s presentation, assignments, quizzes, homework, notes, and other pertinent class information. While at home, students and parents can use Haiku to check for homework and study class materials. This is a proactive way for parents to check what is happening in their students classes and view which homework and class assignments have been assigned. Once again, think of Haiku LMS as the “windshield” since it is used to see what is happening currently and in the near future. PUHSD encourages parents to get their own Haiku accounts (instructions for setup), but a simple temporary workaround is for students and parents to log in at home together.

After you get in through a regular
computer, you may also download
the Campus Portal app on your
smartphone. Our District ID# is:
DMTLPK

If Haiku is the “windshield” Infinite Campus is the “rear view mirror.” Infinite Campus (IC) is PUHSD’s official student database. Although Haiku is an important tool for students and parents to keep up with the content of their classes, it is still vital to access the Infinite Campus Portal (IC Portal setup instructions). Parents who need to sign up for IC were given these instructions at recent Back-to-School events. Students were also given these instructions, complete with their activation key on subsequent days. Parents who still need these instructions are encouraged to call their school to have their specific instructions emailed to them. Although most students have already set up their IC accounts, students can get help with the Infinite Campus Portal from their counselors or their site’s technology coach. Families use IC to check for missing assignments, scores on individual assignments, in-progress grades, attendance, and to view and print unofficial transcripts. It is a powerful tool and is also available in a very convenient app for iPhone and Android smartphones.

This is a promising new era that PUHSD has embraced because it believes these improvements in accessing important class and school information will give all students and their families the tools needed to be successful.

CMI Technology Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 13:00:00 +0000

By Robert Guzman

Tech Coach

California Military Institute

We live in the age of digital media. More and more, news agencies are cancelling their physical editions in favor of web accessible content. This tells us that the idea of a newspaper is not dead. It is the delivery and medium that has changed. The vision of a newspaper, whether it is print or online, is what defines it. We had a vision to create a bi-monthly newsletter for the teachers at CMI in order to get relevant information pertaining to education and technological issues that would make their lives easier.

The goal was simple: to get information to teachers that would cover multiple topics. CMI’s technology newsletter is in the form of a Google Doc. This ensures that the editor can edit or add more content to the current newsletter. This way the teachers do not have to sort through large amounts of emails about updates dealing with software or educational practices on how to best use technology in the classroom.

The plan was straightforward; to provide available resources to teachers in one place. The best place to retrieve cutting edge information is on Twitter. Following the various educational resources on Twitter, one can feel bombarded with information. Chad Shaner from Perris High made an analogy about Twitter. He stated that “Twitter is like Niagara Falls and all you have is just a little cup to catch some of the water.” The abundance of it is quite overwhelming. For educators, it is virtually impossible to use all of them. CMI’s Technology Newsletter saves time for teachers and gives them tools to enhance educational practices.

There are sections in the newsletter for the various software programs we run on a daily basis. Also, teachers know that if any updates or changes have taken place to their favorite programs they would see them in the newsletter. Since helping staff improve their use of email is a current goal, there is also a series on Google Apps For Education with emphasis on Gmail for the Spring semester of 2015. Our Gmail segment is broken up into a beginners and advanced section. This way we can reach various skill levels. In theory our staff will learn a new tip with every new tech newsletter that is published or at least review something they have previously learned.

Some of the other sections of the newsletter included segments from other Tech Coaches. One section in particular that is a regular on the newsletter is Chad Shaner’s App of the week. From time to time, how-to-guides from the other tech coaches and even other PUHSD employees are available. This promotes the culture of collaboration that has been instilled in members of Scholar plus. The CMI Technology Newsletter is a document that relies heavily on the sharing of knowledge, because sharing is caring. One of the things we tell the staff at CMI is that if someone teaches you something, then please make sure you teach that one thing to another member of the staff. This way the culture of collaboration continues.

The CMI Technology Newsletter has allowed us to send large amounts of information to all staff members at CMI. This way the knowledge is passed to all employees and we can make our school a better place for our students. If more staff members are informed about what and how to use technology in the classroom, then our students will benefit and become the best they can be. The benefit of the newsletter can be seen almost immediately. Teachers often make comments about what they learned or what they want to do with one of the ideas or tools shared with them. Technology Newsletters are a must in every school to ensure equity for everyone.

Teaching Literacy Matters, Improving Reading in a 1:1 District

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 13:00:00 +0000

In the fast-paced digital world our children live in, the practice of reading is often overshadowed by a media-rich environment dominated by television, YouTube, and video games. The ironic twist in this new reality is that our children will increasingly need to rely on their literacy skills to have access to careers that demand a post-secondary education. The distractions of our tech-infused world make it ever more enticing for our children to stay glued to a screen rather than delve into a good book, yet this world cannot be sustained without a healthy supply of literate, educated young adults.

The statistics are alarming. According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 43% of adults read at or below an 8th grade level while 44 million adults, (23% of the population), are considered functionally illiterate. The same study found that 75% of state prison inmates can be classified as low literate, illustrating the vital importance literacy plays in our society. Perhaps most heartbreaking is the long term effect low-literacy has on children of these adults – children who never hear a bedtime story or receive help with homework because their parent can’t read. Low literacy becomes intergenerational. The strongest indicator of a child’s success in school is the mother’s level of education.

In light of these statistics, it is imperative that our teachers combat this dilemma. These battles are being fought and won by teachers like Ms. Julia Peacock, one of our English teachers at Perris High School. As a technology coach, I have had the good fortune of working with Ms. Peacock and hearing of the small victories taking place in her English and Reading Intervention classes. After helping her set up an online reading assessment that the students take on their Chromebooks, she relayed to me that most of her students read at least three years below grade level. “They didn’t understand vocabulary, and they couldn’t analyze literature. No matter how I tried to teach them, they gave me back blank stares,” lamented Peacock.

Ms. Peacock explains her plan of action: “I couldn’t actually teach students how to read. That was supposed to have been done all the years prior to them arriving at my classroom door. So, what to do? Monday through Thursday nights, students were required to read for twenty minutes. However, they could read anything they wanted. Anything. Graphic novels, fantasy, romance, science fiction, biography, memoir, realistic fiction, historical fiction, whatever they wanted was on the table as long as it read like fiction because, no matter how interesting, reading how-to manuals isn’t conducive to doing literary analysis! I helped them find books they liked by doing a book pass: Place a different book on each desk, ask them to read part of it in about 1 ½ minutes, then rate the book on a scale of 1-10 as to whether or not they would want to read it. This way, each student had a list of at least six books they were interested in reading.”

For the first fifteen minutes of class the morning after they read, students had to go on their Chromebooks and complete a reading log. The premise was simple: analyze what you had read the night before. Peacock explains, “It was complicated getting the students to do the reading log correctly, but I refused to “dumb down” the lesson so they could get better grades. Mastery was the point. Improving their reading levels so they could succeed in high school was the key. Making it easier did them no good. Eventually, they got the pattern and the classroom was silent as soon as they sat down and tapped away on their keyboards.”

Ms. Peacock had ten reading strategies with at least eight sentence-starters per strategy. For example, under “prediction reading strategies,” students would respond to sentence starters such as:

“I think _______ is going to happen next because…,”
“Since _______ happened, I think _______ will happen because… .”

For the first three days, her students would analyze three different strategies by writing three sentences for each strategy. “Fridays, when there was only one strategy left, I gave them the last strategy then an element of fiction to blog about (setting, plot, characterization, etc.) in Haiku,” (the learning management system we use at PUHSD).

After going through this process for a few months and administering the assessment again, the results were so very clear: reading improves reading. “As a bonus,” says Peacock, “the writing portion through the reading logs also improved writing, as I would edit them and give them guidance as to how to improve sentence structure, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Overall, it was an amazing experience for my students and for me.”

Ms. Peacock talks about one student’s experience that stuck out the most. “Kathie” had a hard time getting to school first period, so her first semester report card was riddled with Fs. Her first assessment result was a lexile of only 840 Which is an approximate 6th grade reading level -- 3 grade levels below 9th grade. However, after just a couple of months of diligent reading at home and completing reading logs in class, her second assessment showed an improvement to a Lexile of 1020 -- a 7.5 grade reading level. “Certainly, that could have been a fluke,” states Peacock. “Sometimes the second test is a big drop or gain from the first one, which is why I always give at least one more assessment so the numbers can even themselves out over the course of three test sessions.” Yet the results were undeniable. Kathie’s end of the year assessment showed an amazing improvement: 1145 Lexile -- a 10th grade reading level!

Ms. Peacock’s joy is evident as she talks about several other students who had similar success. Through classroom blogging and daily journals, she gained valuable insights into her student’s learning process as evidenced by these student responses:

“I actually enjoy reading now and the reading logs.” - “Robert”

“I’m finding that this assignment is getting easier because we get to read whatever we want to read.” - “Rosetta”

“I start to read better within every chapter or page.” - “Omar”

Ms. Peacock’s passion is evident as she describes Kathie’s reaction to her improved scores. “There is no reward greater to a teacher than seeing the look in her eyes and the tears on her face when she realized how far she’d come in such a short time.”

Literacy matters. It has to.

Technology Courses at Pinacate: Employing the Future

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Sheryl Sandberg, the C.O.O of Facebook, recently stated, “Our children, including our girls, need the opportunity to learn computer science.” Computer scientists, or programmers, imagine and create our digital world. When we pay our bills online, email a picture to a loved one, buy a birthday present on Amazon, or use GPS on our phone to get somewhere on time, we owe our thanks to a programmer. Unfortunately, computer science is not widely taught in public K-12 schools. According to Code.org, there are currently 586,107 computer science jobs available in the U.S., but only 38,175 computer science students graduated and entered the workforce last year. The statistics are clear: computer science needs to be taught in school.

Perris Union High School District’s Pinacate Middle School decided to start exposing their students to computer science. Last year in December, every student on campus participated in Code.org’s “Hour of Code” event that occurred across the U.S. Shortly after, a computer programming club was offered after school. Young and excited aspiring programmers instantly joined the club. Their creations were fascinating. It became evident that computer science should not be limited to a club environment but should be offered as an actual course. The first official technology class at Pinacate began during the second semester with only 15 students. This pilot class was first taught by math teacher Erik Anderson with the assistance of the school’s technology coach, Mark Synnott. Within two months, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Synnott were requested by administration to develop a technology course for the 2015-2016 school year. After much planning, writing, erasing, and rewriting, their technology curriculum was approved by the district’s board. There are currently thirteen technology courses at Pinacate. This means that over 500 students are practicing computer science everyday. These innovative classes are being taught by Mr. Anderson, Mr. Wojciechowski, and Mrs. Burnett.

As well as exposing students to computer science, the goal of the technology curriculum is to provide students with an opportunity to create and manage digital content in a wide variety of contexts. Every resource is available online and free of charge. Coding skills will receive the primary emphasis as students are exposed to introductory lessons in logic and computational thinking using coding languages HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python. While learning these languages and new ways of thinking, students will interact with multiple forms of input, from playing computer-simulated video games, to typing raw commands in strict command-line coding environments. After researching the best available resources, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Synnott selected Scratch paired with Google’s CS First, Tynker, Code Combat, Code Academy, and Code.org to help facilitate students understanding of basic coding.

The curriculum will also take students beyond computer programming by providing opportunities for them to create in other digital environments. Students will create digital art through programs like Geogebra and Code.org’s Artist Studio. They will also learn the basic mechanics of photography and still-image editing through the Adobe Creative Cloud. Video production will be taught through free video editors like WeVideo and students will make animated stories through resources like Animaker. Additionally, at least once a week, students will spend time learning how to become a good digital citizen by exploring resources at Common Sense Media. Lessons in digital citizenship will require students to reflect on issues like cyberbullying, leaving a clean and productive digital footprint, protecting personal information, internet safety, internet identity, and creative rights.

Students will be expected to master a number of other digital skills that serve as the infrastructure of their digital journey including keyboarding, website navigation and bookmarking, building and managing an ePortfolio in Haiku, saving and renaming files and images, keeping track of their usernames and passwords in Google Forms, use of Google Classroom and Google Drive, and participating in digital checking for understanding activities presented through media such as Kahoot and Socrative.

Currently, 7th and 8th graders share the same classroom. The plan for the 2016-2017 school year is to expand the class into Tech I and Tech 2 classes. Tech I classes will teach 7th graders the skills that underpin success in a digital environment such as keyboarding, file management, portfolio maintenance, and the basics of computer science. Tech II classes will give 8th grade students (who have already taken the Tech I class) opportunities to deepen their understanding of computer programming and the production of digital art forms. Students in the Tech II class will also be encouraged to broaden their understanding of the world around them through participation in project based learning such as the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. This nationwide contest asks students to identify one issue or problem that they observe, either at school or in their community, and to apply S.T.E.A.M. skills to solve that problem. So far, Mr. Anderson has seen wide interest in this project, with almost 60 students signing up to be part of the initial endeavor!

As the course develops over the coming years to include emerging technologies, the vision to help students uncover the fundamental power of their digital skill remains the same. Pinacate hopes to produce students who will apply their digital skills in a way that benefits others, whether these people live in their own communities, or halfway around the world.

National School Lunch Program

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 00:24:00 +0000

Salad, bean, and greek yogurt dip
with whole-wheat pita chips

More than just a lunch application…..

School lunches definitely aren’t what they used to be. As a matter of fact, they’re better than ever! At the Perris Union High School District (PUHSD), we serve up fresh chef and chicken salads, yogurt parfaits with granola, wrapped sandwiches on flatbread, and Asian chicken dishes such as teriyaki and kung pao edamame over brown rice or chow mein noodles. PUHSD students have a wide variety of delicious and nutritious breakfast and lunch choices and we are continually working on developing new offerings to keep our students coming back for more.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) applications serve several purposes; the first of which is making sure that our students are provided a nutritious lunch and breakfast daily to give them the fuel they need for optimum learning. For the parents, participation in the NSLP offers a convenient and cost-effective method of providing a balanced lunch and breakfast for your children. Participation also helps our district qualify for e-rate monies which support technology, Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) that helps support our schools and students and reduced costs for Advanced Placement Tests. When you fill out the NSLP application and return it to us, we all win. Your participation is very important.

Facts and Figures

5 billion lunches are served annually in the National School Lunch Program. That is more than 31.5 million children that are served each day.

11.5 million breakfasts are served annually in the National School Breakfast Program.

About 60 percent of children enrolled in U.S. schools participate in the National School Lunch Program.

More than 900,000 school lunches were served last year in the PUHSD National School Lunch Program. That is almost 5,000 lunches served daily to our students.

More than 440,000 school breakfasts were served last year in the PUHSD National School Breakfast Program. That is more than 2,400 children that are served breakfast each day.

A student will eat approximately 4,000 meals while in grades K-12.

Source: http://www.ecoliteracy.org/download/rethinking-school-lunch-guide

Strawberries, blueberries
yogurt parfait with granola

Studies have shown that students whose nutritional needs are met have fewer attendance and discipline problems and their ability to learn is enhanced as well. A good breakfast to start the day and a nutritious lunch is a positive step in helping support your students through their school day.

Our Summer Feeding Program offers a free breakfast and lunch to every student that attends summer school. If students don’t attend summer school, Nutrition Services offers a free lunch to all children from the ages of 2 to 18. These meals are provided at a kiosk outside every school site that offers summer school.

The Application Process

The NSLP application process begins on July 1st each school year. We start by mailing applications home to each parent/student reminding them that it is time to complete a lunch application for the new school year. A new application must be submitted each school year for your household. You do not need to complete an application for each child. There are two ways to complete your application:

Apply online at https://mealapps.puhsd.org/fma or visit our district web site at www.puhsd.org and click on the link to Rocket Scan at the bottom of the page. Once on the website, follow the step-by-step directions to complete the application and submit your electronic signature.

If you are more comfortable with the paper application, you can obtain one from any school site, district office, or call us and we are happy to mail one to you. You must return your completed and signed application to us for processing as soon as possible. You may return it to the PUHSD office or your child’s school.

If you have any questions or need assistance completing your application, please contact the Nutrition Services Department at: 951-943-6369 ext. 80240 or email juanita.nava@puhsd.org or veronica.rangel@puhsd.org

We want you to know…

We have a dedicated staff that wants what’s best for “our” students. Each day they work to provide nutritious meals for our students. You’d be surprised at how many students know the names of the Nutrition Services staff at their schools and the staff looks forward to seeing your child each day. It is our goal to accommodate each and every student and provide them with a nutritious meal served with a smile.

We want to thank you for supporting our program and we encourage you to complete a lunch application as soon as possible. Completing the NSLP application is one way to continue to support our schools and our children.

If you have any questions or comments please contact Kim Marksbury, Director of Nutrition Services at kim.marksbury@puhsd.org

Living The Dream

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:56:00 +0000

Authored by: Dian Martin, Coordinator of Educational Services

Several of Perris Union High School District students were living the dream this summer. The Perris Union High School District Workability Program placed over 25 students in a paid work experience within the community. These students earned an average of $720 and let me tell you these students were not only excited to earn some CASH but they also learned valuable job skills. PUHSD receives Work Ability funds to support students with special needs:

WorkAbility I is a school-based transition program working to benefit students, employers, and the community at large by meeting the needs of local job markets.
WorkAbility I promotes independent living and provides comprehensive pre-employment and follow-up services for youth in special education.
WorkAbility I provides secondary special education students ages 14 to 22 with the opportunity to obtain marketable job skills while completing their education

Our Business Partners had many wonderful things to say about our students this is just one testimonial from Best Buy™…

Employer Testimonial

Best Buy, Menifee - Gerald Harer, Assistant Store Manager

“It has been my experience that our communities WorkAbility I program is an unmistakable example of a great partnership that positions our youth to become better indoctrinated in the modern workforce. I appreciate the experiences I’ve had to teach about what we do here and provide guidance to a vision of good. The overwhelming majority of WorkAbility students are well armed and enthusiastic to explore the inner workings of our business and discover roles that interest them in future endeavors. I am proud to work for a company that supports the alignment of student and business and am sincerely thrilled when a student realizes their path”

After the program ended, five of our summer placements were hired as part-time employees. This has been a great partnership between Perris Union High School District and our Business Community. We are gearing up for the holiday season and plan to place another 25 students throughout the community. If you are interested in learning more about this fantastic opportunity then please feel free to email dian.martin@puhsd.org or helen.stimach@puhsd.org.

Every Student and Staff Member a Maker

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Perris Union High School District (PUHSD) is an innovative district and is fostering and leading a change in culture in which digital learning and tools are available to help drive improvement. This change can be seen on our campuses in which teachers are transforming education through innovative lesson design and delivery where students are actively engaged in developing critical thinking skills and higher order thinking.

Not only is PUHSD continuing to foster and lead change with access technology/digital tools, our district is providing opportunities for students to have access to hands-on tools; PUHSD is empowering students through Making in Education.

Makerspaces, Hackerspaces, Tinkerspaces, are terms that might be new to many educators. But the educational philosophy behind those terms is not new. Makerspaces and the Maker Movement is about hands-on learning that is project/problem based. Making in education relies on Design Thinking with students following design and engineering principles. Our Makerspaces, hackerspaces, tinkerspaces will be locations where students and staff can come together to design, explore, craft, draft, create, hack, and to grow. “Makers believe that if you can Imagine it, you can make it.”

A Makerspace is a learning environment. These spaces are not traditional classrooms, woodshops, metal shops, and computer labs. Makerspaces are interdisciplinary and tear down the walls of what we knew as shop classes. Traditionally school have funneled or tracked a specific type of student to shop classes. But a Makerspace is for all students. The space needs to have programmatic elements that make it usable but also must be purposely flexible where teachers and mentors can bring students together to imagine, design, and create. The space is for formal and informal learning that can take place during the school day and beyond.

At PUSHD, these spaces will start out with some standard elements. Some of this include the following: the application of slip resistant epoxy flooring, a wall of floor to ceiling whiteboards (Wall Talkers), digital projector, a combination of fixed and mobile furniture and storage, and accessible power and networking.

As each Makerspace on each campus evolve and grow, so will the types of tools needed. At the entry level, some examples of tools needed are the following: glue gun, pop riveter, combination wrench screw drivers, pliers, sanding blocks, clamps, etc. Also at the entry level, Makers need access to consumable materials such as fasteners, glue, batteries, needle, thread, wires, tape, gloves, dust masks and much more. As each Makerspace on each campus grows, so will the supply of tools and consumable materials.

Our young makers are already inventing and creating. Most projects are worked on collaboratively where students plan, sketch, construct, test, and evaluate their projects. Whether it’s making a wallet made of duct tape or designing a miniature roller coaster, students are activating skills they never knew they had. Often times, the greatest learning experience comes from the failure of their projects. Besides receiving a score or a grade, students evaluate their project, fix mistakes, and try again. Success comes from the process of creating and making, not necessarily from finished working projects.

Makerspaces gives students the opportunity to play. Playing engages the part of the mind that innovates and creates. These skills go beyond high stakes testing and the simple recall skills that students have grown accustomed to. By playing and tinkering, students can make up their own goals and answer their own questions. They will be in charge of their own learning.

We believe every student should be taught to have a “growth mindset” or the belief that their basic abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication. We do not believe in a “fixed mindset” where individuals are born with a fixed set of skills. In a fixed mindset, students have been labeled as “smart” or “dumb”. Every student is capable of developing their skills to their highest potential. Our Makerspaces will challenge our students to dream and think big ideas. Then, with hard work, dedication, and a little grit, they will achieve personal success. By making, testing, failing, re-tinkering, and testing again, students will practice an attitude of resilience. What they eventually create is not as important as the effect of the making process on their confidence to achieve. Not just in the Makerspace, but in everyday life.

The Maker Movement is a combination of modern tech tools and good old fashioned hands-on learning. Many, many staff members at PUHSD are excited about the Maker Movement and I want you to share in this exciting development. Our Makerspaces, hackerspaces, tinker spaces will be locations where students and staff can come together to design, explore, craft, draft, create, hack, and to grow. As stated earlier, “makers believe that if you can Imagine it, you can make it.” PUHSD is embracing the Maker Movement. We want to promote “Every Student a Maker” and in fact we want to promote “Every Staff Member a Maker”.

9/11 Tribute at Paloma Valley High School

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 02:38:00 +0000

On Friday night, the 14th anniversary of 9/11, Paloma Valley paid a special tribute to all veterans and active military personnel. The school had a pre-game ceremony that thanked our veterans for their service and sacrifice. Paloma was able to get permission to unfurl "The Big Flag" which is 100 yards long by 50 yards wide. The Big Flag is 45,000 sq. feet and covers one entire football field when fully deployed. When presented at baseball games it covers most of the outfield. The Big Flag is made of lightweight nylon and weighs approximately 850 pounds. A minimum of 250 people is required for a presentation. Paloma is only the second high school in the U.S. to host and display the huge American flag owned by the Holiday Bowl Classic Association. It is one of the largest ceremonial American flags in the United States that is regularly used in conjunction with large public sporting events. The Big Flag has been presented at the Super Bowl, World Series and numerous NFL, NCAA and MLB events.

Just before 7:00 p.m., the flag was carried to the visiting sideline while both teams lined up in each end zone. The band, color guard, and cheer squads were stationed on the track in front of the home crowd. Veterans who were Paloma Valley alumni were then asked to stand and be recognized and then all veterans and active military were asked to join them. The crowd showed its enthusiastic appreciation for their service. Then students spread across the field and began to unfurl the huge symbol of our nation. As the flag was unfurled, Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" began to play. The crowd began to sing with the music. Many people, old and young, shed a tear or had their eyes well up. The flag had another 100 students beneath it to keep it from touching the ground. They also pushed it up making it appear to wave as if a breeze were blowing. As soon as the song ended, the Paloma Valley student body began chanting “USA! USA! USA!” The moment was pure magic. The crowd was asked to remove their hats and offer a moment of silence in memory of those who lost their lives on 9/11 as well as all the veterans who have preserved our freedom with the ultimate sacrifice. The stadium was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The still air was finally broken by a drum roll followed by the national anthem. When the anthem ended the crowd erupted with applause and cheers. The students on the field sprang into action and had the flag folded up within a minute and then proceeded to march it off the field.

At half-time, fans were asked to offer words of appreciation to their friends and family members who had served or were currently serving. Some wrote out their lines for the announcer to read while others were brave enough to speak to the crowd over the microphone. The words were definitely from the heart.

The students who carried and displayed the flag included the NJROTC cadets and the freshman football team from Paloma Valley. Approximately 250 students were involved in deploying the flag while the band, color guard, and cheer squads added another 150 students on the track. They practiced Thursday and Friday after school to ensure a professional display.

Many thanks goes to Master Sergeant Puebla who helps oversee the NJROTC program at Paloma. He initially asked for the flag to come to Paloma for 9/11. A special thank you to Master Sergeant Robert Harden, Master Sergeant Hess, and Sergeant Davis who, on behalf of the San Diego Bowl Association, volunteered many hours to bring the flag to our school and teach our students how to handle the flag.

There is no doubt in my mind that if our students are any indication of love of country, we are in good hands. Their spirit and patriotism shone like the sun at noon on a clear day. I have never been more proud to be a Wildcat or an American than that Friday night.

Don Williamson

Principal

Paloma Valley High School

Trading Grapes for Apples

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 04:38:00 +0000

Magalli Acosta’s Journey from Farm Laborer to High School Teacher

Magalli Acosta

From humble origins, one of Paloma Valley High School’s newest teachers aims to make a difference in the lives of her students. Ms. Magalli Acosta’s first job ever was picking grapes in the fields of the Coachella Valley at age 15. Now at only 23 years old, she has completed her first month on the job as a high school Spanish teacher. Like any new teacher, Magalli works long hours planning, teaching, and grading; but as you might expect, Ms. Acosta is no stranger to hard work. Her parents, now in their fifties, still work as agricultural laborers in the Coachella Valley and live in the little town of Desert Shores. Her mother works in a nursery and her father works mostly in the grape fields specializing in the application of pesticides and herbicides.

Although Ms. Acosta worked with her family in the fields, she was also a motivated student. Magalli graduated from West Shores High School where she earned the honor of Salutatorian (traditionally bestowed on the second highest achieving student) of her graduating class of sixty students. When asked about who was the top student (the valedictorian), Magalli becomes animated, and displayed a competitive streak. “That was my cousin. I had a 4.3 gpa, but West Shores High School was small and didn’t offer as many AP courses as I would have liked.”

Quote from MagalliAcosta

Magalli applied and was accepted to the University of California at Riverside, leaving Desert Shores, population 1,104, for Riverside, population 316,619. Magalli received 11 separate scholarships throughout her college career which gave her a full-ride scholarship. While there, Ms. Acosta was part of the UCR Honors Program while earning both her bachelor’s degree and her teaching credential. Her scholarships also allowed her to study abroad for an entire year. She spent one semester in Spain and another semester in the western African nation of Ghana. This summer, just before beginning her work at Paloma Valley High School, Magalli travelled to China and taught English at the elementary school level. At only 23, Magalli clearly hasn’t missed a step in her well-executed plan to become an educator!

In a conversation about the value of experiencing truly hard work, Ms. Acosta shared her feelings that most students have lives where many things come too easily to them, such as a free education. Magalli also agreed that students would benefit from doing agricultural labor, as they would learn both the value of labor and gain an appreciation of what it takes to grow and bring food to the market.

However, Ms. Acosta worries about her family’s health, especially her father’s. She says her parents are healthy, but are now in their mid-50’s. Her father tells Magalli not to worry, but there is concern about the long-term effects of decades of extreme heat, back-breaking labor, and contact with pesticides.

By: Roberto Verzo
flickr.com/photos/verzo/7961602570
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Going forward, Ms. Acosta is focused everyday to become the best teacher she can be. Like all new teachers, she knows she has much to learn and to accomplish in her career. Ms. Acosta explains what motivates her as an educator: “I have been working so hard to get to this point that now that I am here my focus is to continue to grow as an educator and impact the lives of those I work with. I want to be a role model and an inspiration to my students and ultimately my goal is to have a student return and say, ‘because of you I did not give up or with your help I was able to accomplish this.’ When that day comes, I know I will have accomplished one of my biggest goals in life. As a teacher, I know I will form part of those students’ success and that’s what makes this career so rewarding.”

The Academy Community Day School Mentoring Program

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 21:22:00 +0000

The students at The Academy are getting a little help through a mentoring program created by Dr. Pauline Garcia, Principal at The Academy. Established just a few months ago, this program is an answer to the need shown by some of the Academy’s students for the presence of positive role models in their lives. Students that are being mentored have been identified by Dr. Garcia and are teamed up with volunteers from different departments in the District. The students identified to be part of the program have very diverse backgrounds. Some of these students come from single parent homes, others come from situations in which they have little support for education. As diverse as these students and their situations are, they all have one thing in common: they are at The Academy to make up credits and/or learn to modify their behavior, all in an effort to work their way back to their comprehensive high school.

The mentors that are working with these students come from very diverse backgrounds as well. Currently working with students are Nick Newkirk, PUHSD’s Purchasing Agent, Hector Gonzalez, PUHSD’s Director of Facilities, Art Fritz, PUHSD’s Director of Facilities Services, and Mark Synnott, Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) Technology Coach, among other volunteers. The background and experiences of the mentors working with these students is varied. Many mentors come from similar situations as the students and can relate to the issues these students are facing. These men are not teachers or counselors, but are members of the community and as such have good advice to share as well as providing positive encouragement to these students. This is one goal of the program. Further, these volunteer mentors have found the experience so rewarding that they came together to chronicle (or blog) about the program. Here are each of their experiences.

Experience of Hector Gonzalez, Director of Facilities

The experiences that are shared by the volunteers with students, through the mentoring program, are meant to empower and encourage these students to come to school everyday, do well in class, and ultimately reach their goal of graduating from high school. The way the program is structured is such that the volunteer mentor visits the student as frequently as possible and spends a varied amount of time interacting with the student on a one-on-one basis. Goals and achievements are discussed during these meetings as well as the sharing of advice for the students. As an example of some of the interaction that happens with the students, I am currently working with a student that has a home situation in which little support is offered for education. The student is frequently absent from school and has expressed anger issues related to his situation, not only at home but also at school.

During our one-on-one sessions, I offer advice from my personal experiences, having come from a similar background. I offer words of encouragement to come to school and to make up the necessary credits in order for him to return to his comprehensive high school. The student I am mentoring is working hard to try and make it to school everyday. His goal is to make it back to Perris High. Achieving small goals in the right direction are celebrated and encouraged and it is amazing how much this student likes the positive conversations that happen during our visits. On a recent visit to the student, I was surprised to see the student start the one-on-one session with a very negative demeanor. He started the session by talking about having problems with other students at school that day. After talking to him about the need to “let go of the small stuff and concentrate on positive results” his attitude changed and the session ended on a positive note.

The mentoring program at The Academy is something that the students can benefit from. The struggles they are going through are not unique to them. I have had many of the same struggles. Through hard work and determination, I was able to rise above these struggles. Hopefully, my experiences will help a student rise above whatever situation they are facing and succeed.

Experience of Art Fritz, Director of Facilities Services

The initial reaction from the student was one of, “why are you trying to help me” and “you don't know my situation”. He told me “you don't understand my situation or the environment I live in”. When asked to explain it to me the student replied, "you have to live it". The student had signs of hopelessness, abandonment, and seemed to be stuck between life in his current environment and wanting to achieve something better for himself. After sharing some of my life stories, I knew I had gained his respect enough to at least listen and hear an alternative to his current situation. We began to talk about choices and how all of our choices have either positive or negative consequences. We talked about how our entire life is a choice. There are things that we have control of and things we don't have control of but we choose how to make the best of it. Initially, I talked about common core, his attendance, and attitude while at school. I got no response. So we talked about his current life and the situation he was in now. He admitted that it was one of the choices he had made a while ago.

In order to get to a comprehensive high school he had to make up the credits he was missing. The only way to accomplish this was to come to school, behave in class, and make up the credits he had missed. I tried to show him how to use The Academy as a stepping stone to a better place in life which was a choice he had the power to make. Eventually, he could step into that better place he wanted to be in. As we talked more I found that the student loved photography, music, and working with his hands. He needed to see something tangible for his efforts. It has been reported that the student’s attendance has improved which is a plus because he has made a positive choice by coming to school. Personally, I feel that this is an awesome program. To see these students try to become better students is admirable. Most of them just need someone to a least listen to them and point out or help them get to a better place which begins with a high school diploma.

Experience of Nick Newkirk, Purchasing Agent

I have had the opportunity to work with two different students at The Academy, both of which are currently in foster homes. Like the other mentors, I am not a teacher, counselor, site administrator, or therapist. As part of the program, I’m there to simply provide advice, guidance, and most importantly, support. In my initial meetings with each student, it was apparent that their guard was up high and trust would have to be earned along the way. Each student was quick to take ownership of the choices they had made to bring them to The Academy. They were both well-aware of exactly what needed to be done in order to get back to a comprehensive high school. However, they were hesitant to talk about their life experiences and current situations. Although I come from a nuclear family, I was able to share my own life experiences and interests. These commonalities helped to build a mutual relationship wherein we wanted to learn more about each other. Little by little, meeting after meeting, their guard started to come down. Each young man began to share the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. Not having the support of a family means that their home is merely a place they sleep, eat, and want to stay away from for the most part. Their foster families do an incredible job of trying to make their house a home, but each young man wants something more than they can offer. Although I talked with them about their struggles, I also talked with them about their triumphs. Positive encouragement is tremendously important for all students, but it especially beneficial for foster youth. Although each young man had their fair share of disciplinary problems that had led them to the Academy, they are just as capable and intelligent as students at any other site. Many of the talks with the students focused around both short and long-term goals and what they needed to do in order to obtain these goals. Fortunately, they’ll have mentors, teachers, administrators, and their foster families along the way, but ultimately each young man knows that it is up to them to make the right choices and take personal responsibility for their future. As foster youth, they also understand that much of what they do is going to have to be done alone. The challenges faced by foster youth are many, but more than anything they need someone to believe in them.

Experience of Mark Synnott, TOSA Technology Coach

For the last seven years, I taught Reading Intervention at Pinacate Middle School. Most of the students that attend The Academy used to be my students. Dr. Garcia asked me if I would mentor one student in particular who was getting into trouble daily. When Dr. Garcia told me his name I immediately smiled. I had taught this student when he was a 7th grader and he was in trouble all the time. I remember writing him up the first day of school. He had over 40 referrals his 7th grade year and even more as an 8th grader. This student was eventually sent to The Academy the end of his 8th grade year. He started the 2014-2015 school year at The Academy as a Freshman.

I began meeting with the student in September of 2014. He laughed when he first saw me and yelled “Hi Mr. Synnott!” and shook my hand. We talked about “Pinacate memories” and the times he got in trouble in my class. Our first two meetings consisted of talking and laughing about middle school life. I earned his trust pretty quickly. When it comes down to it, kids just wanted to be listened to and know that the person listening actually wants to be there. I told him constantly, “Listen, I care about you and I want to see you in High School. Middle School is over, it’s time to grow up!” After a few more meetings he asked me, “How do I get to Perris High?”

I met with this student once a week for four months. I started each visit with his referral count and asked him to explain to me why he was getting in trouble. I stressed the importance of treating everyone with respect, even those you don’t like. The second part of our meeting usually consisted of the student venting while I listened. By November, we had our routine down. He became determined to get to high school by second semester. All I did was encourage him and tell him constantly how proud I was of him. That’s all he needed to hear. Over the course of four months the student’s referral count dramatically dropped. He was not perfect but he began to take ownership of his actions. To make a long story short, this student started at Perris High School January 15th. He had met his goal of going to high school by second semester.

I saw him a few weeks ago and asked him how he likes Perris High. He replied, “It’s Awesome! I’m in ROTC now.” I’m so proud of him and the man he is becoming.

Experience of Dr. Pauline Garcia, Principal of The Academy

I have worked in the Perris Union High School District for 16 years. I started out as a high school counselor at one of the comprehensive high schools. I have worked as an administrator at four schools in the district; two comprehensive high schools, the continuation school and currently, I am the principal at the Academy Community Day School.

I have to say that the Academy is by far my heart, my passion and my love. I did not know what to expect when I started. I had heard negative comments about the school and students. However, once I arrived, I instantly fell in love with it. I knew being at the Academy was “my calling”. It was evident that the students had lost hope. They did not believe in themselves. Nor, did they feel that others believed in them. My students need constant reassurance. They need a boost of encouragement and motivation every period and every day of the week.

It is an unrealistic expectation to require my students to attend school and focus solely on their work when in the back of their minds they are facing many challenges in their everyday life. Many of my students come to school with a heavy load of sadness, abandonment, fear, confusion, homelessness and hunger to name a few. I knew my students needed more and deserved more.

I began conversations about starting a Mentoring Program for the students at my school. I looked within the school district to identify and recruit respectful, successful individuals willing to give a little to help my students feel a sense of worth. I have been fortunate to work with Mr. Mark Synnott, Mr. Nick Newkirk, Mr. Art Fritz, Mr. Hector Gonzalez, Dr. Charles Newman, and others. They have become a beacon in the lives of my students. They have renewed a sense of hope in my students, that success is attainable. More importantly, that they matter. I cannot thank them enough for their generosity and selflessness in helping me change the lives of my students at The Academy Community Day School.

Conclusion

Although the mentoring program at The Academy is still in its infancy, visible progress is being made with students. Hopefully this program grows and other mentors are able to join in helping these students. With it being such a small school, it’s realistic that every student could eventually work with a mentor during their time at The Academy. As strange as it sounds, the goal for students at The Academy is actually to leave the site. By showing up for school, earning credits, and staying out of trouble, students have the opportunity to move back to comprehensive sites, graduate high school, and better their futures. The mentoring program is designed to offer students some extra support to help make these goals a reality.

Students: Resume Advice from PVHS Work Experience Teacher, Dr. Resa Rosenstein

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Now that summer vacation is around the corner, and our students are going to be graduating soon, the idea of getting a job is creeping into their brains. One of the tools that is needed to be successful in this venture is a resume, one that best reflects the candidates admirable qualities, which may be required when applying for a job. The question is, how does one go about that? That answer is found when you take the Work Experience Class, which meets every Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. in the Theater at Paloma Valley High School. With that said, let’s explore the best font to use once you know how to write your resume, as that is the starting point.

Most, if not all, of the assignments that your teachers instruct you to write for your classes in school are written with the font, “Times New Roman”. This is due to the fact that the style method of document formatting and citation commonly used and accepted is MLA for English, and APA for the Sciences, which require this style of font. Therefore, it naturally follows to keep this style font for all writings required in high school. But the “real world” isn’t high school and the business world is changing day to day.

Recently, I read an article written by Natalie Kitroeff from Bloomberg.com, entitled, “The Best and Worst Fonts To Use On Your Resume”, and I shared with my Work Experience students the latest favored business writing font for resumes and cover letters. Helvetica, the font I am using to write this blog, is the font that “feels professional, lighthearted, honest..” Because it is “safe”, it won over other font competitors making this one deemed more “business-y”. How important is this looking at the whole interviewing process? It is very important as the resume represents ‘YOU”! By using this font, it shows you put some thought into this process and didn’t use the “old tried and true” Times New Roman. Even though Times New Roman is the classic, it is also getting “old” and with that a nonglamorous feel of something comfortable, but boring- not the impression you want to make!

Exhibit #1

There may be other fonts that you favor, but they must be job-appropriate. For example, flowery fonts like aquafina script (see exhibit #1) may be the one you choose for a wedding invitation or if you were applying for a career in wedding planning, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for other businesses outside that field. According to Kitroeff, the font “Didot”, is an upscale font with a little feminism twist and is a good fit for writing a resume for a job in the fashion industry. The list goes on, but what really matters is that now the latest and best font for resume and cover letter writing has been shared. So go out there and apply for the job of your dreams!

WeatherBug Weather Stations

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Tue, 02 Jun 2015 15:00:00 +0000

Perris Union High School District joins the WeatherBug Schools Network. Check out any school site on the District website and you will now see a live link to a WeatherBug on-line weather station. Weather Stations with web-based education software tools have been installed at Perris High School, Heritage High School, Paloma Valley High School, Pinacate Middle School and the California Military Institute.

WeatherBug
Weather Station at
Perris High School

PUHSD is very excited about being part of a network of over 8,000 weather stations across the country. The WeatherBug Schools Program is the largest weather and climate sensor network that combines professional-grade weather stations at K-12 schools and universities. The weather stations will be used to enhance the science, technology, and math school curriculum using the WeatherBug Achieve program. Each station records more than 25 weather variables and updates every few seconds. This live, hyper-local weather information is exclusive to Earth Networks, enabling an unmatched view of current conditions.

High heat during the summer and early fall is one of the challenges our athletic programs face. The partnership with the WeatherBug Schools Program will also allow athletic directors and coaches to receive notifications for weather conditions, including the heat index through the StreamerRT tool. The dynamic interface enables users to create notification rules for specific locations. Notifications are sent through visual and audible delivery and delivered to desktop and mobile emails.

Technology is the Great Equalizer in Special Education

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Tue, 12 May 2015 19:06:00 +0000

Once regarded as expensive and scarce, the well-planned technological implementation at PUHSD in recent years has made resources available and accessible to students with disabilities like never before. As part of the Scholar+ teaching and learning initiative, PUHSD’s 1:1 Chromebook deployment is one such example of getting needed resources in the hands of students for daily use.

There are many teachers at PUHSD who have spent decades supporting students with disabilities who struggled to gain equitable access to the mainstream curriculum. At times, this uphill battle seemed insurmountable. Now, technology brought about by Scholar+ has been helping PUHSD students close this gap, increasing the possibilities for students with disabilities to equally participate in the general curriculum. The reality of students with disabilities at PUHSD having equitable access to learning experiences is one of the desired outcomes for Scholar+. It is great to see desired outcomes become a reality.

Scholar+ has provided accommodations to students with disabilities that were once expensive and rare. For instance, SpeakIt! is a Google Chrome extension that reads selected text using Text-to-Speech technology that has language auto-detection. SpeakIt! can read text in more than 50 languages and can assist students with learning disabilities and visual impairments to read text. Voicenote is also a Google Chrome extension that uses speech recognition software to take spoken words and convert them into typed words on the screen. Students with fine motor impairments who find it difficult to use a standard keyboard or grip a writing utensil can use Voicenote to complete written compositions. A glowing example of this is that recently a teacher sat down with a student who had visual impairments and was struggling with writing and worked to provide resources. After helping the student install Voicenote on the Chromebook, the student went from writing a paragraph in one hour to composing three pages in half the time. The student’s ability to participate in English class was transformed and this would not have been possible without Scholar+.

Video creation can be extremely beneficial to students with autism or those with more severe cognitive disabilities. There are a number of online tools that allow teachers to create cartoons, comics, screencasts, and live-action videos that can be used to create an assortment of helpful teaching and learning resources. These short demonstrative and informative videos can help students learn how to appropriately act in certain social situations, instruct students in an entertaining way about personal hygiene or safety, or reinforce appropriate behavior by depicting expected behavior. Our teachers are now using this technology to improve the lives of students.

Our students with disabilities live in incredible times where access to technology can result in life changing moments. Everyday, more and more of our students with disabilities are taking control of their lives through technology. Scholar+ at PUHSD continues to provide opportunities for students with disabilities to have equitable access to the curriculum and enrich their lives like never before. Technology is the great equalizer that is making all the difference.

Scholar✚: Transforming Education

noreply@blogger.com (PUHSD) — Wed, 06 May 2015 16:05:00 +0000

Approximately two years ago, Perris Union High School District took its first public steps embarking on a journey that is changing the face of education in the region. The first public step was the unveiling of the Scholar+ teaching and learning initiative. There is much to be chronicled on Scholar+ and the exciting things happening at PUHSD and we want to share them. Our newly announced PUHSD blog will be the format to expand on the development, implementation, and future goals of Scholar+ as well as other district achievements.

It is an unfortunate truism in education that many school districts have a disjointed organizational structure. Often, divisions are working on different paths that are not connected to each other. That is not to say that the individual paths don't have merit or are wrong. It’s just that these paths often lack connections to each other. This truism is more apparent in the traditional model of school districts in which the Business Services/Technology Departments and Educational Services Departments are on different paths. Schools have hardworking, talented, and caring people working in these departments and there is no doubt their commitment to education is solid. But what great things can happen when the paths connect, intertwine, or become one?

PUHSD was no different in the traditional business/technology and curriculum arrangement. Excellent people and teams of people were thoughtfully doing the noble work so necessary in education. But something interesting happened. The word “interesting” does not do justice to the developments that unfolded. At PUHSD, the two roads started to meander into each other, briefly following a similar path but then breaking off. This intertwining happened often enough that the players became familiar with each other, trust was established, relationships were formed (some might say alliances were forged), and a new team started to emerge. All of these things allowed PUHSD to shed the tradition and what emerged was Scholar+.

There is a saying that “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This encapsulates our philosophy and explains how PUHSD has been able to persevere with Scholar+. While planning, scheduling, and coordinating on Scholar+, we worked together. Hierarchy was suspended as to allow voices to be heard. We met in person and online, took advantage of office spaces and virtual spaces, and used the collaborative tools available to us as we traveled together. With the conditions being set at PUHSD, it was time to define the focus. That focus was clearly on the learner. The term-or brand-Scholar+ was purposely selected as to cause every decision to be focused on the learner, our scholars at PUHSD. Some of the attributes we want our students to develop include being inquisitive, creative, motivated, collaborative, productive and innovative. All of these attributes and more are ones that can be found in the type of scholar needed for the modern world. Also, the naming of Scholar+ as the teaching and learning program included designating that term for our wireless network. The name Scholar+ is what the students, parents, staff and community see when they access our network and see our devices on campus and in the community.

But Scholar+ did not start with the creation of the brand. The plan started with the careful crafting and creation of desired outcomes. It should not be missed that PUHSD did its research. We dove deep and wide into the best school programs and excellent research provided by experts in various fields and organizations. We took the wise recommendations to start with desired outcomes and moved forward on our journey. The elements of Scholar+ address the desired outcome of providing all students with the opportunity for 24/7 learning that is personalized and flexible. Other desired outcomes include students using 21st Century tools to do authentic work, the ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with peers, experts and their teachers, access libraries of digital content that provide multiple pathways to learning, pursue real-world issues and topics of deep interest, and understanding and practicing digital citizenship. Lastly, Scholar+ ensures that PUHSD provides equitable access to learning experiences for all students and especially students in underserved populations—low-income and minority students, students with disabilities, and English language learners.

As you can see, PUHSD has a lot we want and need to share. We have not even scratched the surface of Scholar+ and the systemic improvements PUHSD is undergoing. As we continue to blog about Scholar+ and PUHSD, you will find out more about the philosophical underpinnings, the players, the devices, the facilities, and much, much more. Thank you for joining us and joining this blog. We are glad to have you with us. Remember, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”