Happy Summer

Happy Summer!!

Please enjoy your time off (except for those of us lucky enough to work 12-months). Regardless of your schedule, please find time to read, relax, rejuvenate and recreate.  Spend some time reflecting on the positive difference you made for colleagues, students and parents this year.  We are often unaware of the positive and encouraging impact we make in the lives of others.  You've been doing so much for others, take time to do something for yourself.

Retirements

Sherri Moncrief, Jan Kennedy, Carol Delville, Debbie Perry, Debbie
Pidgeon, Kris Hopp, Cathy Gordon, Kathy Schlief, Eric Andrew

One of the favored events each year is celebrating and honoring our retirees at the Ainsley House.  Last Tuesday night. we celebrated this year's retirees.  These folks who have given so much to others chronicled 394.5 years of service in Campbell and 513.5 years of service in education!!  The honorees in attendance were Carol Delville and Jan Kennedy (RHMS),  Cathy Gordon, Kris Hopp and Debbie Pigeon (Lynhaven), Sherri Moncrief (Marshall Lane), Debbie Perry (MMS), Kathy Schlief (Forest Hill) and Eric Andrew (Superintendent).  Those unable to attend were Sue Dietrich (Castlemont), Janice Lyon and Denise Navarra (Capri), and Greg Gundy (RHMS) and Debbie Baccino (Special Education).  Additionally a few other retirees elected not to have their names published.  We are so grateful for the service and difference each of these folks have made in Campbell, they will be missed.

CUSD Obtains Discount for Employees Attending National University

If you are considering taking additional coursework at National University, as an employee of CUSD, you can get a 15% discount from the tuition cost.  Please contact Patricia Del Rio at pdelrio@nu.edu or (408)236-1124 and let her know you are an employee of Campbell Union School District in Santa Clara County.

Additional HR Reminders

Over the Summer break, please remember to update Human Resources with:

·         * Address, personal email and/or phone number changes

·         *  Name changes (requires an updated Social Security card)

·         *  Life events (marriage, divorce, new baby/adoption, etc.) 

         that may affect your last warrant designation or benefits.

·         *  Banking information associated with your Direct Deposit

Your June check will be available for pick up on June 30^th between 1:00 – 2:00 in the Board room. Checks (or stubs) not picked up will be mailed the same day by 3:00.  If you would like your check held, please contact our Payroll department before the 30^th.

If you do not anticipate returning to CUSD in the Fall, classified staff should contact HR immediately as benefits will end on the last day of the month worked and you may have other options available to you. For certificated staff, your benefits will end August 31st.

Job Postings

All job postings will be sent out to all employees via email.  Also, please let your motivated, talented and innovative friends and family members know of our CUSD job openings as well.  All openings and applications can be seen on our CUSD website link, campbellusd.org, under the district tab, then job openings and also on Edjoin.org

Spring Edition

Staff Wellness Update

Thank you to the 206 of you who completed the wellness survey.  We gained valuable information from the survey which will inform our continued commitment to support our Most Valuable Resource, you.   Our planning committee is comprised of David Penstone (CSEA president), Catherine Hodge (CETA president), me and CalPERS and Kaiser employee benefit services representatives.  While they work with Kaiser, our focus and supports will be from a variety of our health partners, such as El Camino Hospital.  We reviewed your input from the survey and will be working to provide supports and activities in the areas you requested.  We will be providing the survey results at the March 16th Board Meeting.  We will be expanding our committee with some of you who expressed an interest in being part of the committee.  We are seeking a brand for our Wellness program.  We are thinking of something around “BE WELL.” We want to be sure that our staff have ways to consistently fill their reservoirs because they are constantly giving of themselves to others.  We are asking for logos and graphics from you for this brand.  Please submit your graphics and ideas to the Human Resources Department by Monday, April 10.  The selected winner will receive a gift from our community partners.  The winner of the survey completion participant drawing was Richard Timpson, teacher at Campbell Middle School.

Wellness Supports

Remember, as an employee, you have access to confidential supports and services through our Concern Employee Assistance Program.  You can access this information through https://www.concern-eap.com/  When prompted for the Employer Code, simply type in Campbell Union School District.  You will then be able to access many helpful services and resources, such as counseling, dealing with unexpected life circumstances, personal resilience tools and organizational support.

Guest Teacher and Support Staff Absence Coverage Challenges

I know it is frustrating when plans for collaboration or planning day do not occur because the absence is not filled.  We are continually seeking to hire more guest teachers (GT) and we currently have about 125 GT as well as many guest support staff.  We have increased the pay rate and that has helped, but we still do not have adequate coverage.  In addition to the collaboration, planning days and illness, we also currently have 36 staff out on medical or maternity leave.  This is much higher than usual.  We have also identified a few factors that support guest staff coverage. Submit your absence as soon as you receive the Action Required email notifying you to do so with the absence reason notated.  If you have not made prior arrangements to have your release covered, you have the option to manage your own preferred guest teachers. The system will attempt to contact the guest teachers from your preferred list first before opening up the absence to the general list. Please see instructions attached. GT's have also shared their appreciation for being welcomed in the morning, finding organized and clear lesson plans and having other staff check in on them and offer assistance.  These extra gestures make a lasting impression.  We also have a vacancy announcement on our website and on Edjoin.org for guest teacher and support staff coverage, please let competent, conscientious and available friends and family know of this opportunity.  If you have additional suggestions for improvement, please let us know.

Staffing for 2017-18 School Year

I wanted to share our process for determining staffing needs for next school year.  We are currently determining enrollment projections, which tell us how many staff we need for each site and grade level.  We have been in a slight decrease for enrollment and we anticipate that continuing for the next few years.  In our planning, we also include the retirement and resignation notices we have received to determine additional staffing needs.  We have begun having interviews for internal staff wishing to transfer to known openings and we will continue to post openings internally and externally as they become known. 

Additionally, we anticipate there may be some staffing changes as we transition Campbell Middle School to the TK - 8th grade school.  However, at this time, the only decision that has been made is that there will not be any 5th grade students enrolled at CMS.  The two teachers there will be offered

opportunities at the other schools as we anticipate an increase in 5th grade classrooms at some of our other sites.  The union leaders and I will be meeting with certificated and classified staff at CMS in the next few weeks to discuss the process.  We will also be discussing this during our negotiations process.  Information specific to the transformation process is available on the district website and is regularly being disseminated in the newsletters. 

We have begun interviewing student teachers who had their placement in the district and we will be attending university and regional job fairs in the next few months.  We are seeking to establish a pool of strong candidates to fill any vacancies that become available.  It continues to be our goal to provide our students with talented, student centered, forward thinking and engaging teachers and support staff.  If you are aware of folks fitting this description, please refer them to our website or Edjoin for postings.

Recruitment Efforts

This month, CUSD joins school districts across the state at recruitment fairs to attract the best

teachers to our district. Since video is now a key communication tool, we’re using it to help us recruit the best teachers to join our outstanding team of teachers, administrators and support staff. 

Special thanks to all of you who took part in the interviews and allowed us to capture your classrooms on camera!  You can see our recruitment video on youtube: https://youtu.be/xNUsXoz7iRk

Education Opportunities

In collaboration with several other districts and the County Office of Education, we applied for a grant to provide $4,000 annually to classified staff seeking a credential.  While there were over 300 interested applicants within the group, the California Department of Education only awarded 50 slots for the grant.  A rigorous application process was held to determine potential applicants and eight of CUSD's sixteen interested participants were selected.  Additionally, the district will be establishing similar funding from our Education Effectiveness Funds to support our classified staff wishing to complete a credential.  More information will be sent out next month.

Our newest cohort of teachers working to earn an M.A. in Education Leadership from Santa Clara University is in full swing.  Classes are held at the PLC on Mondays and Wednesdays.  If you were unable or not yet ready for this program, there are informational meetings for a similar cohort with San Jose State University at Moreland USD.  The informational meetings will be held on March 23 April 12 at 4:00 p.m. at the Moreland School District Office.  Here is the link for the M.A. informational meetings:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMkA7BB7fow93zi4CSAHy9CC2XPIdYU1JRDkkJy9yjiJo7ww/viewform 

There will also be information for the doctoral program at the above mentioned meetings, use the same link to rsvp for informational meetings at a variety of locations.

CUSD Logo Wear

Please find the attached link to order CUSD logo wear for   Women's Cardigan / Women's V-neck / Men's V-neck (black w/color logo)  CUSD Logo-wear ORDER FORM

Reminder:  Daylight Savings Time

This Sunday, March 12 is daylight savings time!!  Please plan accordingly

December Edition

December Edition

As we wind down these last few days of 2016, I encourage you to take time to reflect on the many wonderful experiences you have had this year.  Take time to recall the difference you have made in the lives of others - both students and adults.  You give of yourself each and every day, so during this holiday time, give back to yourself.  Do something just for you to renew and refresh.  Enjoy your time off, sleep in, have fun, see mindless movies and be with those who bring you the most joy!!

Staff Wellness

In keeping with our commitment to "put your own oxygen mask on first," we are seeking input from you to determine areas of focus to support our staff.  We are working with Kaiser's Community Services group on this survey and as an incentive for completing the survey, they will draw names and provide prizes to some who have completed the survey.  Please note, the survey may be completed anonymously, however if you wish to participate in the drawing, you must provide identifiable information.  Thank you for completing the survey below.

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2959732/Campbell-Unified-School-District 

Debbie Baccino

Sending a Fond Farewell

Campbell is sending a fond farewell to Special Education Director, Debbie Baccino and Castlemont fourth grade teacher, Sue Dietrich.  Both are retiring, with their last official work day being December 16.  Debbie began as the Director in CUSD in 2012.  Sue began in CUSD in 1979 and has provided 37 years of service and support to students and families!! Castlemont has hired, Shannon (Seeley) McGowan who will begin teaching after break.  Debbie's replacement has been identified and we are in the hiring process, but because we are in discussion with her current district regarding a transition, we will not be releasing her information until this process is concluded.  Debbie has agreed to help out with the transition after she returns from South America welcoming the birth of her second grand baby and until she moves to Indiana at the end of February.  We were blessed to have these wonderful, caring educators in our midst.  We wish them well as they take on the next phase of their lives.

Sue with her friends and colleagues
Rachel Ruggiero, Kris Darragh, Sue and Stephanie Lykam

Central Kitchen Delivers Quality Meals

One year ago, CUSD celebrated the grand opening of its Central Kitchen.

Employees of the Child Nutrition Department are working to deliver fresh, made-from-scratch meals to students each and every day

Meet CUSD's Chef

Meet Sarah Smart, the chef behind the quality meals coming from our

Central Kitchen.  Since early last year, she has been bringing her expertise to our students' meals.  Sarah attended the California Culinary Academy, where she specialized her craft as a pastry chef.  She was also the resident chef at Sur la Table in Los Gatos, where she managed and taught their cooking classes. She has worked in many restaurants and even owned her own ice cream company,  Rockets Ship Ice Cream. She is passionate about farm to table cooking, which is influenced by her background as a vegan chef. She is even a sommelier!  A skill we will not be leveraging in our district program.  Sarah says she is excited to be part of making a difference for our students by providing them with nutritious and scrumptious meals to fuel their bodies and brains.

In-House Catering for School and District Events

CUSD's Central Kitchen will begin event catering in mid-January. Staff will be able to go to the district website’s Food Services page and place catering orders for meetings and events.

Menu items will include:

Sandwich platters, salads, fruit & vegetable platters, desserts, drinks, and more!  Watch for more information in the new year!

 Village teacher, Michele Goetowski was honored as a “Symetra Hero in the Classroom.”  She received a surprise presentation from the 49ers on December 5. Parent, Gigi Griffin nominated Michele because she, “celebrates the process, not the product of learning.   Student effort and success is validated through descriptive feedback, conferencing times, sharing opportunities, student-led classroom meetings, and publishing parties, where children can demonstrate their knowledge through project-based learning.”

Goetowski is one of 16 K–12 teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area who will be honored for educational excellence in the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom program during the 2016 NFL season. She received a $1,000 donation for classroom books and supplies. In addition, she received tickets and was recognized at a special pre-game experience before the 49er vs. Jets game on December 11.

NAACP Honors One of Our Own

April Mouton - Freedom Fighter

For the many who know our Administrator of Equity, April Mouton, you know her unwavering commitment to all students, particularly to those who have traditionally not had equitable access and opportunity.  This has been a core underpinning of her work since she began with the district in 2002.  April's work is being recognized beyond our district.   The Silicon Valley NAACP has selected her to receive the Freedom Fighter Award.  She will be honored at a VIP event on April 2

Safety First

In an effort to continue to keep our worksites safe, our District Safety Committee has recently provided new step ladders to all work spaces (classrooms, offices, etc.) in the district.  Step it up safely!