Early College High School Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

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Community Newsletter

Dear Kindergarten through Fifth Grade Parents,

In August 2016, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) Board of Education gave direction to staff to begin the process of evaluating and piloting new elementary math instructional materials.  Through this collaborative, seven month pilot process, NMUSD K-5 teachers and staff have identified Bridges in Mathematics by Math Learning Center as the comprehensive set of kindergarten to fifth grade math instructional materials that will best meet the needs of NMUSD students and teachers. 

As you may recall from previous communications, this process began with assembling a steering committee of teachers and administrators to develop and guide the pilot process and future recommendation to the Board of Education. The steering committee identified two viable sets of instructional materials that were implemented, analyzed and evaluated in select primary and upper grade classrooms at each site. Teachers used and evaluated each set of materials for seven weeks and then collaboratively reached consensus that Bridges in Mathematics is the best set of K-5 math instructional materials for NMUSD.

As part of the evaluation process parents and students in pilot classrooms were provided an opportunity to provide feedback on the instructional materials.  Community members were able to review website links to publishers and provide feedback through the District Elementary Math Instructional Materials Pilot website.

We are grateful for the guidance and leadership of our Board of Education and their commitment to ensure that we provide teachers with opportunities to identify the best resources to prepare our students for the ever-changing world. District staff will report on the pilot process and the resulting recommendation of Bridges in Mathematics at the Board of Education meeting on May 9, 2017.  Bridges in Mathematics materials will be on display for public review in the Sanborn Building from May 10, 2017 to May 23, 2017.  A recommendation for final approval will go forward to the Board of Education on May 23, 2017.

We appreciate your feedback and support throughout the process and will continue to provide communication to our school community to work toward a seamless adoption process.  

We are proud to announce that the Newport-Mesa Unified School District has been selected as a finalist for the 2017 Learning Impact Awards. The program recognizes outstanding innovative applications of education technology to address significant challenges facing education.

Please read the attached Learning Impact Award news item for more information!

(Left) Ricardo Sandoval, (middle) Juliann Scheafer, (Right) Jason Greenberg, 2017 Orange County Roadeo winners.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) school bus drivers Ricardo Sandoval, Juliann Scheafer and Jason Greenberg win top honors at the 57^th annual Orange County School Bus Roadeo, which attracted nearly 100 drivers.

Ricardo Sandoval, who has been a school bus driver with NMUSD for four years, won first place in the county and first place overall. Juliann Scheafer was awarded third place in the county. As a team, Ricardo, Juliann and Jason placed first countywide.

NMUSD school bus drivers have been competing in the Roadeo, on and off, since 1991, and have amassed 18 first place individual wins and seven team wins at the county level.

School Bus Safety Roadeos are held across the United States and require drivers to pass a written test prior to competing in the seven behind the wheel events. The emphasis throughout the competition is safety and by design, increases safety awareness. Various Roadeos occur throughout California, leading up to the statewide competition. Drivers that perform well at the state level are invited to compete at the International Roadeo competition. Last year, NMUSD bus driver Victor Garza was awarded first place at the International Roadeo. Part of NMUSD’s success in the Roadeo can be attributed to the rigorous training program, ongoing education and testing that takes place within the district. 

“Everything we do, all of the training, all of the testing is to increase safety. We want parents to know that we have some of the best drivers in the state,” said NMUSD Transportation Operations Supervisor Norm Turner.

Participation in the Roadeo is voluntary and NMUSD consistently participates and succeeds at these events. Some drivers attend the Roadeo even if they are not participating in the competition just to support their colleagues, often times cooking and volunteering at the event.

There is a proud history throughout NMUSD of providing safe and efficient school bus transportation. NMUSD is an industry leader in student transportation for a variety of reasons including maintaining clean buses in good working order, having some of the best drivers in the state, and assisting other districts implement the Bus in the Classroom student transportation safety skill training program.

NMUSD is currently hiring bus drivers! If you or someone you know is interested in joining an award-winning team of school bus drivers, please visit the job opportunities website. Drivers can start with little or no experience and through paid training get the experience and licensing necessary to become a school bus driver. Juliann Scheafer, one of this year’s award-winning Roadeo participants, began with NMUSD in 2014 with no previous experience. She received her training through NMUSD and went on to successfully compete at the state level finishing with a fourth place win within her first year.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) launched a Chromebook initiative that will provide access for all students to a digital environment.  

In fall 2016, implementation of the Chromebook initiative began with the Estancia Zone. This provided all students in grades K-7 with access to Chromebooks, with grades 3-7 being a one-to-one environment. Chromebooks were distributed to students in the Estancia Zone which includes TeWinkle Middle School, Adams, California, Pomona, Rea, Victoria and Wilson Elementary Schools.

Informational parent meetings were held at all schools. Traditional computer labs are being replaced with mobile technology and devices in the classroom.

With more devices in their hands, students will learn the benefits that technology has to offer by fine-tuning their foundational research skills, storing their projects and activities in the cloud, and sharing ideas in a safe and supportive online environment.

This initiative has led to increased use of technology in the classroom, with students using it for research, collaboration and to create new and exciting works, while teachers are finding new ways to engage students both in groups and individually. As professional development for staff is crucial part of the initiative, the Educational Technology Department has been providing training on best practices for using Chromebooks as an instructional tool, support for initial setup and lesson design using a co-teaching model and customized trainings based on skill level of staff. Digital Fellows and site technology coordinators at the schools also continue to provide support as needed.

The Initiative includes the following:

• Kindergarten - 2nd grade: One shared classroom set of Chromebooks per grade level. Each classroom also receives 6 Chromebooks. Chromebooks remain at the school.
• 3^rd - 4^th grade: One classroom set of Chromebooks per class. Chromebooks remain at the school.
• 5^th - 8^th grades: In fifth grade students are assigned a Chromebook that they take home and keep until 9th grade. For the initial launch of the initiative all students in grades fifth through seventh were assigned a Chromebook.
• 9^th grade: Students will be assigned a Chromebook in 9th grade that they take home and keep until they graduate. For the Initiative, 9th graders will receive Chromebooks in Year 2.

Students that are assigned Chromebooks to be taken home follow a similar approach to when textbooks are checked out from the library. They are responsible for ensuring the safe handling and charging of their Chromebooks.

For the 2017-18 school year, the Chromebook initiative is expected to be implemented throughout the Newport Harbor Zone in the same format as the Estancia Zone. The Newport Harbor Zone includes Kaiser, Mariners, Newport, Newport Heights, Whittier and Woodland Elementary Schools, as well as Ensign Intermediate and Newport Harbor High School. It is anticipated that the Chromebook initiative will be implemented in the Costa Mesa zone and Corona del Mar in the following years.

For more information about the Chromebook Initiative please contact edtech@nmusd.us.