RHS Spotlight: September 8th, 2020
How do you stay cool during a heatwave?
Groot staying cool in the pool:).
Dear Redwood Heights Community,
Dear Families,
As a community, we are continuing to face unprecedented challenges as individuals, parents, partners, and American citizens. I appreciate how many of you reach out to me and share your concerns and suggestions. I am inspired by the strength of your resolve to not only meet these challenges but to take this unusual moment as an occasion to surpass all expectations. It’s because of you that we are able to not only sustain but flourish. Thank you for recognizing the fluidity of the situation as OUSD continues to adapt and adjust to State and OEA Union mandates. Teachers are working around the clock to create a stimulating and challenging curriculum worthy of the bright minds we are privileged to educate.
RHS teachers have begun sharing their core instructional curriculum plans and distance learning schedules. We are currently adding the grade level website to our OUSD Redwood Heights Website.
CHROMEBOOK NEEDS AND DISTRIBUTION
Below is the protocol for Chromebook pick up or if you need to switch-out hardware:
- Families complete the RHS DIstance Learning Tech and Wellness Survey for our records.
- Pick up the Chromebook (hotspots if available) MON - THU between 8:15 am - 12 noon ( I'm here at the school during these times).
Redwood Heights Back to School Night, THU 9/10: Distance Learning Core Curriculum Plans
Our teachers are looking forward to seeing you all virtually on Thursday, 9/10:
Kindergarten, 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
1st - 5th Grade, 5:00 pm - 5:45 pm
Each grade level team will share Zoom information.
We will continue our tradition by having grade level virtual presentations that will include distance learning core curriculum,, special academic projects, assessments, and what you can do at home to support your child's academic growth.
Thank You to Our Generous RHS Donors
Meet Our New Attendance Clerk, Eve Isbell
Meet More of Our Rockstar Teachers:
We are very fortunate to have stellar instructors at RHS. I want to take a moment and recognize our Technology and Augmentative Communication for Learning Enhancement ( T.A.C.L.E )Program and the dynamic educators that make this program possible. T.A.C.L.E. is a special day class (SDC) K-12 program in the Oakland Unified School District that provides quality academic and social experiences to students with complex communication needs and severe speech and physical impairment. As stated From the T.A.C.L.E. PROGRAM website: “The T.A.C.L.E. program was developed in 1990 by a team of interdisciplinary professionals from Oakland's Special Education DepartmentCombined with Oakland Public School funding, a Bridge School outreach grant provided OUSD with the necessary technologies, training, and consultation to create the T.A.C.L.E. program. Redwood Heights Elementary School was identified as the most appropriate site for an elementary program, and Stephanie Taymuree was chosen as the teacher to pioneer the program” After Ms. Taymuree’s retirement we searched and interviewed candidates for approximately 10 months. Finally, in the Spring of the 19/20 school year, we hired the wonderful Evan Bisbee. His Bio is below:
T.A.C.L.E 2 Educator Evan Bisbee
My name is Evan Bisbee and I'm excited to be joining the TACLE team at RHS this year. I have been working in OUSD for the last three years, first as a substitute teacher, then as an instructional aide, and then as a special education teacher at Fremont High. While working toward my education specialist credential it became clear how important early intervention is to help students receive proper support in order to help them be successful in school and in life for years to come. In that spirit I am looking forward to working with our TACLE students to help them realize their full potential. When I'm not working I like to read, hoop, and play music. I'm looking forward to connecting with our RHS community and working through these strange times together!
Under the extraordinary leadership of T.A.C.L.E’s pioneer instructor Stephanie Taymuree grew into a world-renowned program. Stephanie worked beside an extraordinarily talented educator, Ms. Michele Caputo that helped to shape our TACLE program. Please read Michele’s bio below:
T.A.C.L.E 1 Educator Michele Caputo (Boruta), MS Ed
T.A.C.L.E 1 Educator Dr. Tayla Kemper:
Dr. Kemper’s passion for teaching students with special needs began while an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz working as a paraprofessional in an elementary school classroom for students with moderate to severe disabilities, a paraprofessional in a high school classroom for students with severe emotional disabilities, a home health aide to four-year-old twins with cerebral palsy, and a home health aide to a twenty-year-old woman with severe autism. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Community Studies and immediately began teaching at Mission High School in San Francisco while pursuing her teaching credential at San Francisco State. Her classroom at Mission High served 14-20-year-old students with moderate to severe disabilities and helped to support students in general education. She also started a communication class for students with complex communication needs that was modeled after the T.A.C.L.E program at Redwood Heights Elementary! After completing two clear credentials in Moderate to Severe Disabilities and Physical and Other Health Impairments and her master’s degree in Education, her experience mentoring new teachers and designing curriculum for her classroom motivated her to earn her doctorate at the University of Washington and to then work as an Assistant Professor at first, CSU Chico and now, CSU East Bay. Her teaching focus is on training future general education teachers to better serve special needs students included in their classrooms. Her research focus is on the use of alternative and augmented communication, particularly among emergent bilingual students and on issues of diversity in the design and research of educational interventions for students with autism. When the opportunity became available to co-teach with Mrs. Boruta in the program she has always known to be a model for outstanding education, she jumped at the chance! Dr. Kemper remains committed to her work in teacher training through CSUs but now also has the opportunity to bring her passion for education back into the classroom.
Melissa Marriott, M.S., CCC-SLP
Our team of teachers benefits from the thoughtful expertise of our creative, sharp detail-oriented Melissa Marriott, M.S., CCC-SLP. She is the speech-language pathologist for Redwood Heights Elementary and Urban Promise Academy middle school. She works closely with the T.A.C.L.E program and prioritizes opportunities for collaboration, generalization, and building capacity in all classrooms across her school sites. Melissa is also a clinical supervisor and part-time lecturer at San Francisco State University. Her areas of specialization include Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), language and literacy intervention, and transdisciplinary practice for students across a variety of educational settings. Her prior research includes needs-based assessments for refugee families with children in special education. Melissa received her master's degree in Communication Disorders from Arizona State University.
our Alameda County Public Health Department website www.acphd.org