EdCal EdCal v49.10 11/5/18

Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators Volume 49 | Number 10 | November 5, 2018 Unique program leads to growth in math Whiteboards and raised hands domi- nate teacher Jon Highfill’s classroom at Ridgepoint Elementary School. It’s that environment that’s also seeing growth in mathematics throughout his campus and district. “I’m so proud of how hard my students are working and you can see that they enjoy the work because they are experiencing suc- cess,” Highfill said. “Most students now say math is their favorite subject of the day.” Ridgepoint is part of Twin Rivers Unified School District, which has nearly 29,000 students – preschool through adult education – in the northeastern part of Sacramento. Two years ago, Superintendent Steve Martinez and the Board of Trustees began searching for a new math initiative that would spearhead growth in the dis- trict’s flat scores and low performance. “There has always been the will to do great work for kids,” Martinez said. “But we knew our teachers and site administrators needed tools and support to build capacity in the classroom.” That is when a Southern California superintendent introduced Martinez to Swun Math. Swun Math is a dynamic program ben- efiting students, teachers and the district. Students can collaborate and determine solutions to math problems with a common sense approach that can be unique to their way of thinking. Teachers receive grade- level specific professional development and See SWUN, page 12 A dedicated leader Mary McNeil has used hard work and dedication to find resources for her students. Mary NcNeil’s dedication to her community and values has been the key to her success as superintendent of Needles Unified School District in San Bernardino County. She is the recipient of ACSA’s 2018 Superintendent of the Year Award. McNeil is driven by her work as a strong leader for the com- munity of Needles. Professional development has played no small role in McNeil’s success. “ACSA has helped me create my legacy through the breadth and depth of my professional growth opportunities, which have taught me how to truly make the difference,” she said. Needles USD is 2.5 hours away from the closest California school district and 3.5 hours from the county office. Early on, McNeil recognized the lack of resources (few stores/lack of fresh produce or meat in Needles) and had higher hopes. “I push my team to go out into this great state and to see what is possible,” she said. “All our administrators are members of ACSA and attend ACSA functions throughout the year. As superintendent, I have worked to develop connections statewide See MCNEIL, page 8 Once an ESS winner, now an Administrator of the Year Manny Nuñez knows the importance of relationships. It explains why he starts every morning by greeting every student at Seaside Middle School with a handshake. “What it allows is for every kid to get noticed,” Nuñez, principal at Seaside Middle School, said. “There’s nothing more powerful than connection. Noticing you. Calling you by name. Saying, ‘Good to see you today. Do great things.’” Eighty percent of the students at Seaside Middle School qualify for free or reduced lunch. And 80 percent of the students are Latino. Manny Nuñez knows their struggle and admits he sees himself in them. “It’s an honor to serve as the leader of a school that has students that look like me,” Nuñez said. “And more importantly, students that have a similar background or experience. You have the empa- thy piece because you understand.” Nuñez grew up in a small village in Sinaloa, Mexico. He says access to education was limited due to a lack of resources. “School was once in a while,” Nuñez said. “It was not consistent. You go to school maybe two or three days a week because there was a teacher that would roam around these small villages.” When Nuñez was 3 years old, his father was murdered by the Call for presenters. The Lead 3.0 Symposium has issued a Call for Presenters for the upcoming April 11-13, 2019 event. The symposium is a collaborative effort of ACSA, CUE and Technology Information Center for Administrative Leadership (TICAL). It is truly for administrators, by administra- tors. Three organizations, one mission – Educational Leadership for the 21st century. Find out about the event and presentations call at www.lead3.org. Negotiator award. The ACSA Human Resources Council is seeking nominations for the 2019 Negotiator of the Year. The award will be announced at the 2019 Negotiators' Symposium in San Diego, Jan. 23-25. Award details and criteria are available at www.acsa. org/negotiatorsaward. Deadline for nominations is Nov. 15. ECE webinar, part 2. ACSA, in partnership with the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, is offering a free webinar on expanding access for early child- hood education. More than 100 lead- ers participated in Part 1 of the series. Part 2 will be Nov. 14, 9:00-10:00 a.m. and share best practices from the field for expanding ECE. Register for Part 2 at http://bit.ly/ECEpart2. CAASPP guide. CDE is offering a Guide to CAASPP Completion Status and Roster Management to assist test coordinators in CAASPP administra- tion. The guide will assist in enabling users to determine which students have completed testing and which have not. The guide is available on the CAASPP portal at http://bit.ly/caaspp­ completion. Negotiating event. Register now Manny Nuñez, left, has gone all the way from being a former Every Student Suc- ceeding winner to now being named ACSA's Middle Grades Principal of the Year. Mexican army for his involvement with opium poppy. Nuñez’s mom left Mexico for California in hopes of making money for the family. She brought Nuñez’s younger brother with her but Nuñez stayed in Mexico with his grandparents. “I feel like she left for a good reason,” Nuñez said. “My mom for the Negotiators’ Symposium, Jan. 23-25 in San Diego. This three-day event, with its mix of interactive and workshop sessions, presented by practitioners, consultants and attor- neys, will offer information and provide insight into the issues and laws that confront HR departments. Registration is available at www.acsa.org/negotia- torssymposium. See NUÑEZ, page 9 Salary scale for some new teachers with an undergraduate credential California State University is signifi- cantly increasing the number of teacher candidates who are simultaneously com- pleting a bachelor’s degree and a teaching credential. This results in reduction of the time to earn a credential to approximately 4-4.5 years and is one approach to address the teacher shortages. However, a disincentive for students to earn a credential as an undergraduate has been that their entering salary is based in large part on the number of post-graduate units they have taken. Importantly, the units taken by candidates who earn a credential with a bachelor’s degree include the same post-baccalaureate courses only taken dur- ing undergraduate study. The CSU Chancellor’s Office has worked with ACSA’s Human Resources Council and ACSA staff in developing a consistent approach for recognizing post- baccalaureate courses taken as an under- graduate. A simple, yet intriguing suggestion was put forth by ACSA CTC Liaison Doug Gephart, to report these post-grad courses in a special section added at the bottom of See TRANSCRIPT, page 3 Periodicals Dated Material