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- Spotlight on success
Schools throughout San Diego Unified continue to make significant progress in the area of student achievement, supporting the district's mission to make sure all students graduate with the skills, motivation, curiosity and resilience to succeed in their choice of college and career. A Board of Education workshop held Nov. 27 recognized and celebrated 13 schools representing all areas of the district for their increases in student achievement. Spotlighted schools demonstrated a combination of best practices, academic growth, steady progress over time and closing achievement gaps. Read more.     
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New Chief Financial Officer joins district
Northern California school administrator and retired Navy commander Stanley Dobbs joined the district Dec. 3 as Chief Financial Officer. Dobbs was previously the assistant superintendent, business and CFO/COO/CTO at the 22,000-student Hayward Unified School District, where he created the "Fiscal Solvency Solution Strategies" model that is being implemented successfully across many California districts. As a Navy Commander, Dobbs was responsible for managing over 200,000 personnel and working with a $40 billion annual budget. Read more.
- Prop. S Update: New Sustainable Technologies facility wows guests attending dedication
Board Trustee Kevin Beiser joined Principal Ann Menna, district and community leaders, as well as SRHS students, staff and parents in dedicating the new Sustainable Technologies facility at Scripps Ranch High School on Nov. 29. Before the presentation of the ceremonial groundbreaking shovel and ribbon cutting ceremony, students Alex Johnson and Shea Polansky told guests what a difference the facility and program have made in their education.
Read more.
- Third grade visual, performing arts programs get $5,000 grant
The Kinder Morgan Foundation has donated $5,000 to fund a portion of the Grade 3 Exploratory Visual Art Project (EVAP3) serving 18 district classrooms. The program gives grade three students six weeks of basic visual art instruction, one hour per week, taught by trained visual art teaching artists. Read more.
 | Free STAR Assessment Reports Booklet
The new STAR Enterprise Assessment Reports Booklet demonstrates the expanded scope of information now available to all educators who implement STAR assessments. These reports help teachers and administrators learn how to get answers to key questions that help improve instruction. Request your free booklet. |
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- Mission Bay High, Ross Elementary receive grants from Chargers
Mission Bay High School will receive $75,000 for weight room improvements and Ross Elementary will receive $4,000 for its physical education programs from the San Diego Chargers "Chargers Champions" program. At Mission Bay High, the weight-room improvements will benefit about 900 students in physical education classes, where they'll have the opportunity to perform cardio, weight and conditioning training. Ross students will receive new physical education equipment for the expanded program. Read More.
| For Parents | | |
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- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Center closes Dec. 14 for holidays
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) office at the Ballard Parent Center will close Dec. 14 for the holidays and reopen Jan. 9, 2013. The DACA Office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, in Room 1 at the Ballard Center, 2375 Congress St. (92110). Individuals requesting paperwork must make an appointment in person or by calling 619-209-4553. Read more.
| For Students | | |
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- Join the high school ASB food drive challenge Jan. 19 - Feb. 2
All San Diego County high school ASB organizations are invited to participate in the San Diego Food Bank's MLK Freedom from Hunger Challenge. To enter the challenge, each school must host its own food drive anytime between Jan. 21 and Feb. 2, 2013. The top four schools win prizes, but all participating schools win just by helping provide food to about 500,000 San Diegans in need. Read more.
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| Educational News | | |
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- Educator offers ideas for using video games in STEM lessons
Professionals who work in science, technology, engineering and math often work in programming, so educator Shawn Cornally writes in this blog post that he incorporates games in his classroom as a segue into programming. Cornally offers lesson suggestions for two popular games, Mindcraft and Portal 2, as well as ideas for teaching students to write their own computer code. For example, Cornally writes, he has his students figure out if the actions in Portal 2 violate the laws of physics. Edutopia.org/Shawn Cornally's blog
(11/30)
- Teachers need differentiation in professional development
 The one-size-fits-all model of professional development available to most teachers does not work, veteran teacher Katrina Stevens writes in this blog post. Stevens suggests a learning community model with daily, ongoing PD focused on student learning. "In order to successfully implement new practices and improve student learning, a learning community needs to 1) focus its efforts, 2) work collaboratively, 3) be willing to reflect and examine what's working and 4) be willing to make adjustments when they aren't seeing the desired outcomes for students," she writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Education
(12/5)
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