From the Principal's Desk
Final report- DAC representatives for 21/22
Thank you to all our DAC representatives
District Advisory Council (DAC): DAC advises the Board of Education on matters related to educational programs, policies, and procedures, and considers action as requested. Each School Site Council selects a representative to serve on DAC. Visit the DAC webpage for additional information. Redwood Parent Representative- Carrie Halvorsen
District English Learners Advisory Council (DELAC): Interested parents should visit the English Learner website- https://www.conejousd.org/Departments/Student-Services/English-Learner-Services; Redwood Parent Representative- Vacancy as of 3/1/2022
Gifted and Talented Education District Advisory Council (GATE DAC): Visit the GATE DAC webpage for additional information. Redwood Parent Representative- Melissa Crawford
Special Education District Advisory Council (SEDAC) Visit the Special Education webpage for SEDAC Meeting information. Redwood Parent Representative- Angie Biehl and Rachel Brusseau
LGBTQ+- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning and Others Advisory Council (LGBTQ+ AC): The purpose of the new LGBTQ+ AC is to advise the District on strategies and actions that can assist the District in becoming more welcoming, inclusive and informed in supporting our LGBTQ+ students in their academics, extracurriculars and social emotional development in school. For more information, you may contact Shauna Ashmore, Director of Student Support Services at sashmore@conejousd.org. Redwood Parent Representative- Margo Tameris
AADAC provides a parent and community voice for our African-American and Black families in order to support our students in experiencing maximum levels of success at school, including academically, extra-curricular, social-emotional and wellness. Our goal is to build a strong partnership between CVUSD staff and families, and to connect our community’s African-American and Black families. We do this by sharing both successes and areas for improvement as we collectively engage in ongoing discussion and collaboration. Part of AADAC’s role is to advise the District Advisory Council, school administrators, site staff, and the Board of Education. AADAC provides a diverse perspective for CVUSD’s implementation of those policies and procedures. For additional information, please contact Sonia Wilson, Director of Middle Schools at soniawilson@conejousd.org or 805-497-9511 ext. 1221 or visit the website at https://www.conejousd.org/Departments/Student-Services/Diversity-Equity-and-Inclusion/African-American-District-Advisory-Council Redwood parent representatives Chanise Spencer, Lanisha Sunday, and Niki Wikstrom.
DAC- District Advisory Committee
TO Library staff would like to do as many presentations as needed on campuses for summer reading program introduction!
Request from Jen Rice (TOHS rep) and Susan’s Hanscom (Parlimentarian) for UDL development for teachers re: mental health of students.
Request by Carrie Halvorsen (Redwood Rep) to expand Middle School sports extensively and for the district to run the program so that the number of students involved can expand. Desire for more physical activity & team involvement for student mental health and physical health.
Kenny Loo, Asst Superintendent of Schools - working hard for outdoor school for 8th graders next year. LCAP survey due by May 26th please complete one survey for every child in CVUSD.
Slate of DAC Officers presented for 2022-2023 school year. Vote will take place at May meeting.
Presentations:
LGBTQ+ DAC gave excellent presentation on inclusion of all students. Are requesting a removal of gender specific pronouns. Would prefer students separated other ways then by gender and referred to as friends, students, scholars and other titles than “boys and girls”
Health & Education committee - gave excellent presentation on the rollout of the new Human Growth and development program. Dena Sellers from the district has been working hard to meet the requests of the committee. Almost all elementary schools have received the 4th grade presentations. 8th will come after spring break. So far has been received positively and the committee is happy with the their requests being met. Committee requests a further review and update on the curriculum to be done at a future unspecified date. Parents should direct any feedback positive or negative directly to school sites.
GATE- Gifted and Talented Education
GATE Heroes – Congratulations to Susan Salvoski, Redwood Middle School’s GATE Facilitator. Ms. Salvoski was recognized at the May GATE DAC meeting for her passion and dedication in supporting Redwood’s GATE students.
Teen Tech Conference – The Teen Tech Conference will be held on Wednesday, June 1st. The conference will be held via Zoom at each of the middle schools. This event will feature 5 STEAM related speakers and activities. Priority registration will be given to GATE students.
New GATE parent meeting –CVUSD is hosting its new GATE parent meeting on Wednesday, May 11th from 6-7pm via Zoom. Topics to be discussed are 1) What is GATE, 2) Identification, 3) Gifted characteristics, 4) Strategies for meeting GATE students, 5) GATE resources, and 6) GATE-DAC information. New GATE parents should have received an email for registration.
LEAPAHEAD – LEAPAHEAD is an 8-week summer math program that reinforces math skills students already learned, preparing them for the challenge of the new school year. The program is for rising 3rd – 8th grade students. CVUSD is offering 280 prepaid memberships for GATE students. In addition, the district will offer a 50% discount to all students.
GATE activities – A Rube Goldberg STEM activity is scheduled on Wednesday, May 18th from 3:30-4:30pm for middle school and high school students via Zoom. On Tuesday, May 24th from 3-4pm, another Rube Goldberg STEM activity will be held for elementary school students via Zoom.
Next GATE DAC Meeting: September 2022
LGBTQ+ AC
Meeting date: Wednesday March 23, 2022
New LGBTQ+ AC Website
· The LGBTQ+ AC now has a website which was graciously put together by Ms. Shauna Ashmore.
· The website can be accessed here: https://www.conejousd.org/Departments/Student-Services/Student-Support-Services/LGBTQ-Advisory-Council
· Currently it includes our meeting calendar, resources for parents, educators and students, ways to access the previous meeting minutes via Board Docs and more. The website is evolving and will be updated regularly so keep checking back.
Subcommittees
· Subcommittees are now forming to start a deeper dive into LGBTQ+ support. We will have one that will focus on Elementary aged students, and another that will focus on Secondary (both Middle + High School)
· Another identified subcommittee is a Social Committee to help our AC members connect outside of our monthly meetings.
2022-2023 LGBTQ+ Advisory Council
· The selection process for LGBTQ+ AC members for the 2022-2023 school year is underway.
· Please contact your site administrator, and/or your site Principal if you are interested in being a rep for your school.
Please keep in mind if you are interested in joining next year that these meetings will likely take place in public vs. virtual.
SEDAC- Special Education Advisory Committee
Redwood is actively seeking a SEDAC representative for the 2022-2023 school year. All interested parents should contact Mrs. Nicole Judd at njudd@conejousd.org or 805 497-7264.
Here are the top 6 takeaways from our May 2022 General SEDAC Meeting:
1. Elections for the SEDAC Executive Committee for the 2022-2023 School year were held. The Executive Board is Chair-Erin Bell, Vice Chair-Denise Benic, Secretary-Mandy Pollak, Parliamentarian-Rachael Brusseau, Members at Large-Allice Chou, Jenny Crosby, Andrea Mettel and Trina Rodriguez.
2. 2022-2023 Meeting Calendar-The SEDAC General Meeting and Executive Meeting Calendar is attached to this email. Meetings will be held in person at University Center in the MPR (2801 Atlas, Thousand Oaks). General Meetings will be 9:15-11:30 am with Executive Meetings following the general meetings.
3. SEDAC Google Drive Folder- As a reminder, there are several resources in our Shared Google Drive including New Member Packet, By Laws, Standing Rules, Community Reports, Meeting Minutes, and so much more!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pON-COV6Lf5qIjYCEVC6sQpmXPr-tsd2?usp=sharing
4. Disabilities Celebrations Committee Presentation- The Committee presented the Disabilities Celebration Toolkit they created. If you have any other feedback or ideas for the committee, then please email Co-Chairs Jenny Crosby and LeeAnn Holland. The committee will discuss feedback from today's meeting along with additional feedback. The committee will then update the toolkit and will then share out to be used in next school year's celebrations! Thank you so much to the committee for all the love, thoughtfulness and time that was put into creating this incredible resource!
5. Summer opportunities- there are several summer opportunities for students with IEPs and 504s. A website is being created with all the available options and will be available soon through the CVUSD webpage. Some options are Extended School Year (ESY), Credit Recovery for high school, general education based summer programs, class ahead opportunities for incoming 9th and 10th graders, and more. Be sure to keep an eye out for more information on the CVUSD webpage.
6. Program updates- Dr. Miller provided an update for the Special Education program at Glenwood. The program has traditionally supported students with higher social-emotional supports and needs. Next school year, there are only 2 identified students for that program. Therefore the program is being dissolved and students will be supported at their homeschool and more supports are being given to schools to support students with greater social-emotional needs. Also, Acacia and Aspen have both had similar SDC programs. Over the next few years, all SDC classes will all be at Aspen in order to give more opportunities for co-taught classes, more inclusive opportunities and to better support the special education teachers. If there are concerns, please reach out to the school site principals for more information.
Finally, we want to again thank Dr. Miller for her guidance and support. Dr. Miller has made a huge difference in the lives of the students and families in CVUSD. She has brought about so much change and her contributions are greatly appreciated.
DELAC- District English Learners Advisory Committee
Redwood is actively seeking a DELAC representative for the 2022-2023 school year. All interested parents should contact Mr. Dennis Carter at dcarter@conejousd.org or 805 497-7264.
LCAP - Dr. Kenny Loo presented on LCAP. LCAP is a 3-year plan that describes the goals, actions, services and expenditures to support positive student outcomes that address state and local priorities. Dr. Loo shared a budget overview, including the total projected LCAP money and finds specific to low-income students, EL’s and foster youth. There are 4 LCAP goals and each goals have specific actions. Each year, revisions can made to the 3-year plan based on feedback from educational partners and progress made on actions/services. 2439 parent/guardian responded to the LCAP survey. Based on the results of the survey, some possible adjustments were shared.
COVID-19 update – Gary Bradbury, Director of Safety and Risk Management gave a brief update on COVID-19.
AADAC- African American District Advisory Committee
Summer Resources for Families
AADAC parents and district administrators wanted to create a list of summer resources for all students and families. We created a Google Slides document with information about mentorship opportunities, summer activities, camps, schools, and academic practice websites. You can access that slide deck here.
New AADAC Website
Please check out the new (and still a work in progress) AADAC Website accessible through the district homepage by following the following steps:
- Go to the CVUSD site at conejousd.org.
- Embedded in the very top banner are words that allow you to go to different areas of the site. Click on “Parents”.
- On the right side, there is a “Parent Participation” column. Scroll down, and under “Advisory Councils,” click on the “AADAC webpage” link.
Human Resources Update
Back in January, AADAC requested and received a presentation from the CVUSD human resources department that revealed that there were 8 black teachers out of 905, 0 black counselors and psychologists out of 63, and 2 black administrators in CVUSD at that time. AADAC requested that the district cast a wider net in terms of areas where they recruit (not just CLU) to reach diverse candidates.
In our most recent meeting, we asked for an update about our district’s efforts to recruit more Black teachers and administrators. We were told that they are attempting to “widen their net” by posting job openings on job boards at more colleges. In addition to CLU, they are posting at Cal State Channel Islands, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Dominguez Hills, UCLA, and USC. They are also recruiting via facebook, indeed, and attending job fairs.
So far, they have hired one new Black administrator who will be the AP of Athletics at WHS and promoted a current Black CVUSD teacher to Dean at Redwood Middle School. This is good news, as we see greater Black representation in leadership roles. However, we are specifically advocating for more Black teachers, leading and teaching students directly in our classrooms as well.
Next Steps
As the first year of AADAC comes to an end, we took time to discuss how we want to move the committee forward next year. Unfortunately, district administrators communicated that they want to change our number of meetings from 9 to 6 and continue to hold meetings between the hours of 8am and 5pm. This creates some challenges for our group. AADAC is overwhelmingly made up of full-time working parents and we have struggled with getting full attendance and participation in our Friday 9am meetings.
Presentation
AADAC Chairperson, Alysia Flamer, was able to give a presentation to the District Advisory Committee about the first year of AADAC. It covers why an AADAC is needed, our goals, areas of focus, priorities, and AADAC invites you to check it out at this link.
Single School Plan for Student Achievement- Check out our plan!
Redwood Middle School
and independently. We encourage students to embrace the challenges that are necessary to become outstanding citizens and
scholars. Redwood is a community that strives to maintain a safe, nurturing, and academic environment where there is a place for
everyone.
Email: njudd@conejousd.org
Website: http://www.conejousd.org/redwood
Location: 233 West Gainsborough Road, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA
Phone: 805 497 7264
Twitter: @redwood_princpl