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August 2008
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year. A strong partnership between school and home is one of the most powerful supports we can put in place for assisting all our students to achieve their full potential. Communication is a key facet of this partnership, so we at MUSD continually strive to provide multiple means of promoting the two-way flow of information and discussion. Here are some of the ways that we are using technology to facilitate communication across the school community.
- Our District website, www.mrpk.org, was entirely re-designed last year as a way to provide access to a wide variety of information about programs, services and operations. It is also one of the fastest ways we have of providing parents with “up-to-the-minute” status reports about emergencies and other time sensitive news. Breaking news will be posted in the center of the home page in a red bordered box.
- Parent Connection was introduced last year; which provides parents with password protected access to their students’ grades, test scores and attendance information. Passwords are typically provided during Back to School Night events.
- This year, Connect-Ed, a rapid dial phone system, will allow the District and schools to send messages to thousands of parents, faculty, and staff in minutes. For this system to work effectively, your up-to-date phone information is crucial, so please make corrections on your children’s data cards that are sent home at the beginning of the school year or notify the school office if your contact numbers change.
Student Achievement is the primary focus of our endeavors. The teachers, principals and support staff of the Moorpark Unified School District have reason to be very pleased with the test achievement our students demonstrated on the 2008 state and federal accountability assessments. Our high-performing students and their parents, who are essential partners in the education process, deserve to be very proud! The District API has continued to climb above the statewide performance target of 800 for the last four years:
- 2005 - 803
- 2006 - 811
- 2007 - 818
- 2008 - 821
District-wide, all sub-populations of students of significant size (White, Hispanic, Socio-Economic Status, English Learners, Special Education) made substantial growth on the API which includes results of the annual STAR exams and High School Exit Exam. MUSD students perform well above the State of California levels overall and by sub-population. For more detailed information on local test scores, see the District website on the Instructional and Support Services page or the California Department of Education at www.cde.ca.gov.
New Facilities have been completed at two school sites as part of the final stage of the Measure R $33 million multi-project plan. Two new classroom wings, which replaced portable buildings, are now open for students at Mountain Meadows and Arroyo West Schools. For a full list of the completed Measure R projects that have improved facilities and learning environments across the District, see the District website under Business Services along with reports from the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee.
Student Safety is the bedrock priority for maintaining effective learning environments. Our Safe School Plans, developed for each school in the District, include a balance of security and prevention strategies. Some of the key elements are:
- Controlled entry to facilities,
- Campus security personnel and communication systems,
- School Resource Officer and close communication with Moorpark Police Department,
- Policy and rule enforcement prohibiting bullying, harassment and aggressive conduct,
- Crisis training and practice drills for students and staff
- Character education programs and school culture of respectful relations,
- Peer mediation and conflict resolution programs,
- Counseling and interventions to address behavior management and improve social skills,
- Inclusive activities to promote connections and relationships with others at school.
It is extremely important that everyone in the school community understands the important role they play in reporting unusual or concerning behaviors. Please review more in the Emergency Information section of the District website.
Thank you in advance for your participation in the school system this year. This is a unique community of students, parents, teachers, and staff, whose expertise, creativity and caring make this District one of the finest in California. I am proud to respresent the District and honored to serve as your Superintendent.
Sincerely,
Ellen Smith
District Superintendent
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Civil War Comes Alive for District Students: Second graders from Peach Hill Academy and 8th graders from Chaparral and Mesa Verde Middle Schools were treated to an exclusive visit to the Civil War encampment on Friday before the event was open to the public on the weekend. Students learned authentic period dances, watched simulated battle field surgery techniques and visited a half dozen different stations depicting many aspects of life in the 1860's. This special learning experience was provided by the Moorpark Rotary Club. The Club sponsors the event annually as a major fund-raiser for charitable projects. Second graders are shown doing "strip the sapling" with Rotary Club President Cliff Williams and Rotarian Linda Plaks joining the students in the dance.
Arroyo West Teacher Wins 1000 Books
Fifth grade teacher, Lisa Daniels, was delighted to find that she is one of one hundred winners of the “Whoopi! We’re Reading” Sweepstakes sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs. A total of 1,000 book will be shipped to Arroyo West School. Ms. Daniels and her students will have the job of deciding where to donate the books within the own community. Thanks to their teacher's participation in the context, students will have the opportunity to experience first-hand how good it feels to share the gift of reading!
"Late Start" One Day a Week for Teacher Collaboration: One of the key areas of focus for this year, defined by our Strategic Planning Team and the District Board of Education, is for teachers to analyze data about student learning to design even more effective lessons to help students learn at higher levels. In order to facilitate collaboration time, so that teachers can share their collective wisdom in instructional planning, the school schedules will be modified for middle and high school this year. One day a week, the students start school an hour later: Moorpark High School -Wednesday; Chaparral-Thursday; and Mesa Verde-Friday. According to family choice, students come to school later or at the normal start time. Supervised study in the library, computer labs and quad areas is available to students who arrive early. Site administrators and teachers are working together to monitor the gains in student progress that are achieved through this powerful research-based strategy of structured teacher collaboration. The goal is to make teaching a “team sport” where the winners are the students and their learning.
New School Configuration: The District has implemented changes to the grade configurations at two of our elementary schools, effective for the 2007-2008 school year. Mountain Meadows now serves students in grades K-3 and Arroyo West serves students in grades 2-5. Completion of the K-5 configuration at these two schools will occur in the 2008-2009 school year. The community and staff committee, Vision 2010, has advised the District every step of the way in the multi-year phase-in plan to re-configure of all the elementary schools to serve the K-5 grade span.
New District Website: Beginning in August 2007, the new District website came online. The goal is to make the website a major source of “up to the minute” news and information for parents, community and staff members. One of the important aspects of the new website software is that it is a “content management system” that allows many staff members to post information on the website, thus avoiding the bottleneck of information and the pressure on a few people to post lots of data in a timely manner. The schools are also beginning to develop their websites which will be geared to informing parents and students. Launch dates will be identified later in the school year. The websites will begin with basic information which will be expanded and enhanced from then on.
Student Wellness: The District Student Wellness Committee, comprised of parents, teachers, school nurses and administrators, has established new guidelines regarding food in the classrooms, based on recently enacted state mandates designed to address childhood obesity and healthy eating habits. These new guidelines affect elementary students primarily in the types of foods served at class parties; which now focus on replacing sugary items with more nutritious snacks. At the upper grade levels, foods sold in student stores and for fund-raising must also meet guidelines aimed at reducing fat, sugar and empty calories. These guidelines are available at school sites and on the District’s webpage. Child Nutrition Web Page
Dental Health: New legislation is requiring that all new incoming kindergarten students submit proof of an oral assessment performed by a licensed dentist or other licensed/registered dental health professional on or before May 31st of their first year in school. Oral Health Assessment/Waiver request forms are available in each school office. Detailed information regarding this new mandate is available in school offices and on the District website. Health and Wellness
Online Parent Connection: Last fall, a new student demographics database, “Zangle,” was launched. This year, new components will be introduced including “Parent Connection” which will allow parents to go online to view such information about their children as attendance, schedules, grades, transcripts and assignments, depending on the grade level. The system will provide another way for parents to stay connected to their children’s school experience and to help students succeed.
PINs and passwords will be available to parents of students at Moorpark High School on Back to School Night. Each parent may have a PIN/password with proof of identification. After Back to School Night, parents may apply in person in the MHS school office with identification for a PIN. Parents of middle and elementary school students will receive PINs and passwords later this fall.
Once logged in, parents will be able to review information about all of their children in the school system. The older the student, the more information will be on file. For example, transcripts and graduation requirements are reports only available for high school level students. For some courses, class assignment grades will be visible. As more and more of our teachers become fluent in Zangle electronic grade book, assignment information will be available on line. One of our Strategic Plan goals for this year is to train teachers to expand on their current levels of expertise and support them in regular application of technology in the learning process and as a tool to enhance communication with students and parents.
Prevention Programs
The District will begin to review research-validated drug/alcohol prevention curriculum for implementation at the elementary level in conjunction with parents and teachers. The District plans to have a program selected and ready for implementation in the 2008-09 school year in anticipation of the likelihood that DARE Officer funding will be in question. Opportunities for Participation
Many promising programs are available that meet state/federal program effectiveness requirements. One example is the Life Skills Training program that includes curricula for students in the second half of elementary school - grades three through five. These curricula teach students the social skills to resist peer pressure to smoke, drink, and use drugs. Students gain knowledge about the myths, realities, causes, and effects of substance abuse, and they learn how to make informed decisions, critically evaluate media messages, cope with anxiety, and form healthy relationships. The curricula are designed to be taught sequentially, reinforcing the material covered in previous curricula.
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