Salinas Union High Dan Burns heading to Daly City

Dan Burns, associate superintendent of instructional services in the Salinas Union High School District, will become the next superintendet at Jefferson Union High School District in Daly City starting July 1.

Burns, 46, spent most of his educational career at the Salinas district, serving in a variety of positions as teacher, assistant principal, principal, and most recently in the district office. He worked at Seaside High School for a year before coming to Salinas 25 years ago.

"As I’m reflecting on leaving the area grew up in -- Seaside and Marina -- I can’t believe what we’ve done in last 26 years," Burns said. "I had a lot of people inspiring me to grow professionally. That helps. I learned from my parents that you get involved in the community and you serve other people. We’ve been active in athletic programs, dance programs and all kinds of staff through the years. I'm Looking for a new adventure and I’m sure the city will allow us to venture."

Among the accolades he's earned, Burns was recognized by the Association of California School Administrators as the High School Principal of the Year in 2011 and as the Curriculum and Instruction Superintendent of the Year in 2016. Burns has been a presenter for WestEd, the Central Coast Section Sportsmanship Committee, and the Association of California School Administrators.

Additionally, Mr. Burns is an all-around cool guy who returns my phone calls promptly and feeds me cool stories about the kids. Plus, he doesn't take it personally when I have to report on the nasty stuff.

Good luck, Mr. Burns. Salinas is sure going to miss you.

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Alisal and Salinas High reach capacity, won't be open to "open enrollment."

Salinas Union High School District administrators have announced that Alisal and Salinas High School will reach capacity with regular enrollment for the 2016-17 year -- which means that these schools will be closed for 'school choice."

The district has a 'school choice' policy, meaning that any student from within the district can apply to transfer to the school of his/her choice when space allows.

A lottery will be held for Everett Alvarez High School for 60 students. The School Choice window begins February 1, 2016. Applications for the 2016-17 school year are available at any district school site. Applications must be completed and returned to the main office of the requested school, no later than 4:00 p.m. on February 26, 2016.

For questions or more information call the pupil personnel services office at (831) 796-6964.

Salinas High teacher takes part in White House Summit on school discipline

The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice are hosting teams of educators from across the country today for “Rethink Discipline,” a day-long conference at the White House on improving school climates and implementing discipline practices. The conference is part of a nationawide effort aimed at reducing the number of youth of color who get suspended and expelled from school.

Expulsions and suspensions are a great concern of education, not only because schools lose funding, but also because absenteeism begins to create a path for truancy. Some locals districts are already making inroads in this area, that's the reason why Juan Govea, who served as Teacher Ambassador Fellow for the U.S. Department of Education in 2012 was invited to take part in the gathering.

"This invitation stems from the good work being done in the Salinas Union High School District surrounding positive based interventions and supports in an effort to reduce suspensions," Govea wrote in an email. "My hope to be able to speak honestly from the teacher perspective on our triumphs and challenges. I think it’s a tremendous honor for our schools and acknowledgement of what teachers are doing here in Salinas."

We can't wait to hear your report, Mr. Govea. Stay tuned.

It's open enrollment season for Salinas High School District

Parents and students within the Salinas Union High School District can apply to enroll at any of the district's comprehensive high schools (Alisal, Everett Alvarez, North Salinas and Salinas). The so-called "school choice" begins February 2 and ends at 4 p.m. on February 27. By then, all applications must be completed and return to the main office of the requested school.

Transfer requests from another district for 2015-16 will be accepted during this open enrollment. Transfers from another school district to a school in the SUHSD attendance area must be initiated in the student's district of residence using that district's request for Interdistrict transfer form.

SUSHD’s Interdistrict Attendance Agreement forms are available at 20 Sherwood Place, Salinas, CA 93906 (Pupil Personnel Services) or download it here. For questions call the Pupil Personnel Services office at (831) 796-6964. 

Salinas High to participate in construction trade pre-apprenticeship program

Nine California high schools will take part in a pilot project this fall designed to help students earn pre-apprenticeships into the construction trade industries, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced this week.

Salinas High is one of them.

The course of study will lead students to a better-than-entry-level position or pre-apprenticeship with a number of construction trades industries. The curriculum includes: building trades math; labor history; training to recognize and prevent hazards in construction sites; first aid and CPR training; and an introduction to the trade industries. This type of program has only been previously used with adults over 18 years of age.

Torlakson is a champion of career technical education, and this program gets at the type of learning California students should be getting, he said in a release.

The program "makes clear to students that what they are learning in school can have a direct effect on their careers after they leave school, keeping them engaged in their own learning," he said.

Nine career technical education teachers in the pilot project have received training and earned certifications to teach the program. Teachers will now design lessons to assure students are prepared for each succeeding step, ultimately building up to a “capstone” course. The capstone course prepares students for a pre-apprenticeship position in the construction trade industries or for further training in college or certification programs.

It looks like this year will be dedicated to recruiting students, so maybe I won't get to profile the program. But you never know. I'll keep you posted.

School boards election watch in Monterey County

For those who want to represent their communities at the various school boards, we're almost a month away from Monterey County's deadline to file for candidacy.

A few interesting races are shaping up so far.

Maricela Cruz will take on Lilia Cortez-Garza for her seat the Alisal Union School District. Cruz co-owns a soccer store in the Alisal, which means she's probably well known among the area's soccer fans. Cortez-Garza, like the rest of the board, is a strong supporter of Superintendent John Ramirez and the current status quo, which some folks are unhappy about.

Former Salinas Union High Superintendent Fernando Elizondo will throw his hat in the ring on Aug. 8, when he'll announce his candidacy at a Salinas restaurant. His election website is up and running, and you can find it here. He's running against Lila Cann, who has been on the board since 2005 and who's well liked among his constituents, I'm told. Cann announced she's running for re-election a few weeks ago, along with all the incumbents seeking re-election.

Stay tuned.

Kelsey Hill and Jaime Virgen recognized as Salinas Rotary Club students of the month

The Salinas Rotary Club awarded Salinas High School seniors Jaime Virgen and Kelsey Hill the Rotary Students of the Month recognition for March and April, respectively. 

Kelsey Hill is the senior class president of SHS. She is a member of the varsity volleyball and swim teams and the Associated Student Body. She graduates in June and plans to study in Denmark for a year before pursuing further studies.

Jaime Virgen is also a senior and has excelled in theater technology and theater arts. Under the mentorship of teachers Nancy Bernhard and Devon Fisher, he has served as a stage manager or theater technician on over 16 plays and productions held at the Performing Arts Center at Salinas High School. He plans to attend college and continue to pursue his love of theatre, film and entertainment.

Teachers and counselors at Salinas High School nominate and select the Salinas High School Rotary Students of the Month based upon academic achievement, demonstrated leadership, school involvement, and other special talents. The Salinas Rotary Club awards the Salinas High School Rotary Students of the Month a plaque and financial contribution of $50 commending their achievements.

Pictured in the photo are, from left to right,  Brad Gebert, SHS Career Center Counselor; Kelsey Hill, Rotary April Student of the Month; Jaime Virgen, March Student of the Month; and Devon Fisher, SHS Theater Technology teacher.

Salinas High is looking for volunteers for mock interviews

Help high school juniors develop interviewing skills by participating in Interview Workshops at Salinas High School. Business professionals are wanted to help interview young students and give them feedback on their skills. All materials, facilitation, and training are provided, along with refreshments. Interview workshops are scheduled for February 14, 15, 26, 27, March 19, 20.

For more information, contact the Salinas High Career Center at 796-7451 or email audrey.sharp@salinasuhsd.org

Window to apply for School Choice at the Salinas Union High district

"School Choice"(open enrollment) policy allows parents and students to apply for enrollment at any comprehensive school within the District. At the Salinas Union High School District, a School Choice window begins February 1. Applications for the 2013-14 school year are available at any district school. Applications must be completed and returned to the main office of the requested school, by 4:00 p.m. on February 28, 2013.

Interdistrict transfer requests for 2013-14 will be accepted during this open enrollment. Transfers from another school district to a school in the SUHSD attendance area must be initiated in the student's district of residence using that district's request for Interdistrict transfer form.

Any student currently in 7th – 10th grade on an Interdistrict must submit an application for the 2013-14 school year.
The required forms are available at 20 Sherwood Place, Salinas, CA 93906 (Pupil Personnel Services) or click here. For questions call (831) 796-6964.

California funding "deferrals" tool

District administrators not only fret about budget cuts, but about "deferrals." It's the money they're supposed to be getting but it's being used in Sacramento to close budget gaps. Talk about borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. 

Doing research for a story I'm writing for tomorrow's paper, I found this cool tool in the web, courtesy of Ed Voice. The database allows you to find out how much the state "deferred" in payments to districts for the 2011-12 school year.

For MPUSD, it was a cool $8 million.
Salinas City Elementary, $10 million.
Salinas Union High, $21 million.

It's money that's owed to the districts, but they can't use it. So they go and borrow, usually with some interest rates attached.Ultimately, it's the taxpayers who foot the bill.

Mmm. Not sure how that will change now that Prop. 30 passed, but will definitely find out.

Salinas has two National Merit semifinalists

but word has it Monterey County has six. Where are the other four?

Aradhana Sinha and Brennan Fahselt of Salinas High were named among 16,000 students nationwide who made it to the semifinals of the National Merit Scholarship program, which recognizes the most talented students in the United States. I've been getting really good reports about Aradhana for the last few years, so I'm not surprised she's in this distinguished list. It's the first I hear from Brennan, but likely won't be the last.

The semifinalists have an opportunity to compete for 8,300 National Merit Scholarships that will be offered in the spring.

About 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which serves as an initial screen of program entrants.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, and includes the highest scoring entrants in each state.

Pretty amazing feat, huh? Congratulations, Aradhana and Brennan! 

Getting financial accountability cold feet

The four largest school districts announced their intentions to seek some sort of financial independence from the Monterey County Office of Education last month, and at least one of them seems to be getting cold feed. For more information, read the story I wrote on the topic here.

Administrators and trustees with the Salinas Union High School District sounded a bit wary of what it would mean for them to become "fiscally accountable" at a meeting Tuesday night. Superintendent Tim Vanolli said it had not been clear to him the amount of work it would take to stop depending on the county to run Salinas high checking account. Trustee Lila Cann said it was "very scary" to think of the district being independent of the county.

It'll be interesting to see what route Monterey Peninsula Unified, Salinas City Elementary, and Alisal Union Elementary take. Stay tuned.

There's still time to view Venus at Salinas High

Students of the astronomy club at Salinas High have been planning for months for the occasion: the Transit of Venus across the sun, an event that won't happen again until December 2117!

Ricky Maciel took the amazing top photo posted above. He and Ana Meza were some of the students who were staffing the astronomy camp today. There's a few hours to see the celestial event, so come check it out. It really is amazing.

For more information about Venus celestial journey, click here.

Eyeing more taxes in Carmel and Salinas

** UPDATE. I stand corrected. The Carmel Unified special meeting is scheduled to take place Thursday, April 19. Thanks to alert reader Marry3000 for the correction.

Administrators with the Carmel Unified School district will host a special meeting THURSDAY to explain how the proceeds from their 2005 bond have been used. They'll also have a cost/benefit analysis of the remaining projects -- some of which are yet to be built. All these eyeing a potential bond to complete some improvements officials still would like to see. And perhaps convince voters their projects are worthwhile.

The special meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. at the Carmel Middle School library, 4380 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. While some people seem

I detect increased eagerness from administrators and public officials to ask the voters to tax themselves in benefit of schools and students. Both the Monterey Peninsula Unified and the Salinas Union High school districts are exploring possibilities of tax measures. And there's already signs voters are not excited about the idea.

Salinas high school teacher leads roundtable discussion about the teaching profession

U.S. Department of Education Teaching Ambassador Fellow and Salinas High School biology teacher Juan A. Govea will lead a roundtable discussion by Salinas Valley teachers on elevating the teaching profession, at Salinas High School Wednesday

The roundtable will offer an opportunity for local teachers to share with the department their ideas, experience, feedback and insight on how to elevate the teaching profession and support student learning.

Govea is one of 16 teachers selected to be a 2011 Teaching Ambassador Fellow after a rigorous competition among hundreds of applicants across the country. He continues to teach fulltime while serving as a resource to the U.S. Department of Education, helping local school districts understand federal policy, while representing the needs and interests of his community to policy officials in Washington, D.C.