MCFARLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. Superintendent s Message

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1 MCFARLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Superintendent s Message Committed to Educational Quality Welcome to the school year. I am excited to serve as the new Superintendent of the McFarland Unified School District. In December of 2006 McFarland Unified School District embraced a new beginning by electing two new school board members. The new Board of Trustees and I are excited about the opportunities and possibilities that lie ahead for the students of McFarland Unified School District. August/September 2007 Volume 1, Issue 1 The School Board and I have a primary focus of accelerating the academic performance Mr.McCurtis of all students. In a recent board study session, the board of trustees and I met to establish the goals for the school year. Listed below is the mission and goals that were set: The mission of the McFarland Unified School District is to accelerate student performance through great teaching and great learning. In order to provide a quality education to the students of McFarland, this school district adopts the following goals: Accelerate gains in student achievement Recruit, hire and retain highly qualified teachers Provide quality staff development opportunities with an emphasis on great teaching and great learning Strengthen partnerships with parents and community Provide safe, secure and well maintained schools Maintain a balanced and fiscally responsible budget with emphasis on student achievement. During the summer months the district has hired many new highly qualified employees. McFarland High School and Middle School both have new principals that have years of experience which enable them to provide quality instructional leadership for our students. Many of our veteran teachers and new teachers attended trainings over the summer that will help to accelerate student performance through great teaching and great learning. District Level Directors have been hired to oversee Special Education and Curriculum and Instruction. With the experience that they bring to the district, I am sure that student achievement will be enhanced. We now have a Director of Maintenance, Operations and Transportation that comes with 27 years of experience. Also, a former MOT director Rolando Perales has acted as a consultant for our district in many areas of Maintenance and Operations. Through their leadership four new portables at Kern Avenue School are in place, new basketball courts at Kern Avenue and Browning Road Elementary schools are being prepared for our students to enjoy and our classrooms are being prepared to receive the most important people of McFarland; our students. As I have told you in past correspondences I believe that teamwork is necessary if we are to accomplish the goal of moving McFarland from being a good school district to becoming a great school district. It is my belief that it takes teamwork to make a dream work. Some of the issues that we have facing us this school year are listed as follows: 1. Negotiating a fair and fiscally responsible contract with both the teacher s union and the classified union. 2. Increase student scores district-wide in order to exit our year three program improvement status 3. Planning for the new elementary school to alleviate the over crowded conditions at Kern Avenue School 4. To develop a district wide strategic plan with the input of teachers and community members of McFarland As we enter the school year, the school district is committed to working with all stake holders and community members in an open and collaborative manner. We have implemented interest-based bargaining in the collective bargaining process so that we can work toward win-win solutions as we negotiate. We welcome community input as we make decisions on behalf of the students of McFarland Unified School District. You are encouraged to participate in your child s education by attending all school related functions. You are also invited to attend board meetings in order to be better informed about the exciting things that your child will be experiencing in the upcoming school year.

2 Page 2 McFarland Unified Notes From Our Principals From Dr. Mario Torres Browning Road School Cougar Cub Go for the Goal!!!!! I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of you to Browning Road. Once again, we have had a quite successful school beginning. We appreciate the support and cooperation that you have given to make this possible. Our staff welcomes your ideas and concerns, and views education as a partnership between home and school. If there is anything that we can do to help your child, please do not hesitate to call. Our goal remains to provide the best possible education for each student. We would also like to congratulate our students, Dr. Mario Torres teacher, and parents for your support. ************************************************************************************ From Ty Bryson Kern Avenue School Welcome to the school year. On behalf of the entire staff at Kern Avenue School, I want to invite all of you to become a partner with us in your children s education. Our school has made a commitment to excellence and we want you to be a part of that commitment. Our district superintendent s philosophy, It takes teamwork to make a dream work! is a perfect statement of our efforts to increase student achievement at our school. Our staff understands that taking a team approach in support of student achievement will create a love of learning and accelerate gains in student performance. There are no better teammates for this endeavor, than the parents of our children here at Kern Avenue. The combined efforts Mr. Bryson of the teachers, staff, students, and parents have made Kern Avenue Elementary a great place to be. Together as a team, we will continue to create an atmosphere for learning that will allow our children an excellent foundation to build upon as they begin their education. It is both an honor and a privilege for us to serve your children and help you to ensure that each child at Kern Avenue is challenged to achieve their full potential. Together, we can give your child an excellent beginning to life-long learning. ************************************************************************************ From Roberta Burgh McFarland Middle School I am very excited to be the new principal at McFarland Middle School. I have been in education for over 25 years and most of that has been at the middle school level. Curriculum is my passion and I love to learn new things. I am a very positive person and that will be reflected in the culture I hope to establish at McFarland Middle School. We will be working to catch students being good and rewarding them for there efforts. I believe all students can learn at high levels of achievement if given the opportunity. We plan to give our students that opportunity at McFarland Middle School. I am looking forward to meeting all of our parents. I have already met your Ms. Burgh children and they are great. ************************************************************************************ From Martin Schmidt McFarland High School Welcome to the school year. It is my pleasure to be serving the community of McFarland as the new High School Principal. I am excited about all of the opportunities that we have planned for our students for the year. Thank you for the warm welcome that I have received from many members of the community. Our focus this year will be maintaining a safe and respectful learning environment, attaining increased levels of student achievement, building a College & Post-High School Education culture, and implementation of the Springboard curriculum. I believe that it is very important to have open lines of communication between school Mr.Schmidt and parents.

3 McFarland Unified Page 3 Notes From Our Principals From Smith Efada McFarland Learning Center We are looking forward to a very exciting and productive school year. We have a staff that can do it all. Our continuation has just received accreditation for another six years with three year site review and we are very excited about that. The Learning Center offers a variety of educational options at San Joaquin High School, McFarland Independent School, and McFarland Adult School. Opportunity exists here in the evenings for Adults who need to learn English, Micro Soft Office(Word, Excel, Power Point). Hopefully GED and Citizenship classes will be offered in the near future. High School seniors with free time after 12:30pm may also enroll in the Microsoft Office computer classes. All parents and community members are welcomed to visit our site to either take a class or just visit our facilities. Mr.Efada New to the McFarland Unified School District Browning Road School Michelle Rubio, Vice- Principal. Kern Avenue School Louie Gomez, Vice-Principal. Louie is a graduate of McFarland High School. He completed his bachelor s degree and teaching credential at Cal State Bakersfield. He received his master s degree and administrative credential from Point Loma Nazarene University. He was a teacher at Kern Avenue Elementary School before becoming the Vice Principal. Louie enjoys spending his free time with his wife and daughter. McFarland Middle School Roberta Burgh, Principal. Roberta has been in education for over 25 years, and the majority of her career has been at the middle school level. She has a multiple subject teaching credential with an add-on credential in general and physical science with a math emphasis. She graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and returned there for her master s degree in education and administration credential. Curriculum is her passion and she loves to learn new things. Maggie Gore, Vice-Principal. Maggie attended West High School in Bakersfield. She earned her bachelor s degree and teaching credential at Cal State Bakersfield. She received her master s degree and administrative credential from the University of LaVerne. Prior to coming to McFarland, Maggie taught in the Rosedale School District. Maggie enjoys spending her free time with her two children and husband. McFarland High School Martin Schmidt, Principal. Martin has been in education for over 30 years. He was a teacher for twenty years in Carson, California and Silverdale, Washington. He has been an administrator for ten years in Silverdale, Washington and Lancaster, California. Martin enjoys spending her free time with her two children and wife. He also enjoys fishing, hiking, rafting, and camping. Lori Schultz, Vice-Principal. Lori is a graduate of McFarland High School. She attended Bakersfield College and completed her bachelor s degree and teaching credential at Cal State Bakersfield. She received her master s degree and administrative credential from the University of LaVerne. She has been with the district since 1999 as a teacher and an administrator. Matthew Roderick, Athletic Director. Matthew is a graduate of Van Nuys High School. He earned his bachelor s degree and master s degree at Cal State Bakersfield. He received his teaching credential from National University. He has been with the district for ten years as a teacher. Matthew enjoys spending his free time playing soccer and running.

4 Page 4 McFarland Unified New to the McFarland Unified School District Educational Services Department Maria Gonzalez-Salgado, Interim Director of Curriculum and Instruction K-5 th. Maria is a product of Kern County. She has lived and worked in the Arvin/Lamont area. She graduated from Arvin High School. She completed her bachelor s degree, teaching credential, and master s degree from Cal State Bakersfield. Maria has been in education for over 16 years, and she has been an administrator for nine years. She enjoys spending her free time with her son and husband. Kim McManaman, Director of Curriculum and Instruction 6 th -12 th. Kim began her career in education twenty-four years ago as a 6th/7th grade teacher. During those twenty-four years, she has held numerous administrative positions including Project Director and Principal. For the past 9 years, she enjoyed working at a small rural school district in Tulare County where she served as Assistant Principal/Project Director and Superintendent/Principal. She enjoys spending her free time with her daughter, dogs, and working on her 1923 Craftsman home. Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation Department Robert Matheny, Director of Maintenance, Operations, & Transportation. Robert has been in education Food Services Department Linda Townson, Interim Director of Food Services. Linda is a product of Kern County. She has lived and worked in the McFarland Area. She graduated from Delano High School and in 1971 she called McFarland her home for twenty-four years. Linda began her career in the Food Services Department of the McFarland Unified School District twenty-seven years ago. During those twenty-seven years, she has held numerous positions in the Food Services Department. She enjoys spending her free time with her grandchildren, gardening, and watching Nascar. Student Support Services Department Mary Williams Smith, Director of Special Education. Mary grew up in Oklahoma and now calls California her home. She completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Oklahoma, administrative studies at California State University and is completing doctoral work at the University of the Pacific. She has been in education for 24 years, most recently as Program Manager in the Bakersfield City School District. Between Mary and her husband Gary, they have three adult children and From the Food Services Department As of this year we are on Provision 2, which means that every student that attends any school in the district is going to receive free breakfast and lunch. We are asking parents with high school students to encourage their students to eat in the cafeteria because we do offer well balanced and nutritious breakfast and lunches. The district is participating in a program that is called "The Wellness Program". This is a program that is providing school environments that promote and protect children s health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity. Please try and discourage your children from eating junk food. Encourage them to eat fresh vegetables and fresh fruit everyday. Linda Townson Interim Director of Food Services

5 McFarland Unified Page 5 From the Maintenance & Transportation Department At the start of the school year we conducted a walk through of the facilities and yards at all school sites. We addressed many safety issues and have since quickly corrected them. Following are school site job projects: At Browning Road School, we have installed playground equipment for the Kindergarten children and the installation of new playground equipment for grades 4 th -5 th is currently in progress. We have broken ground for the new Browning Road Library and should have it completed by December, In addition, we would like to say thank you to the parents and staff at Browning Road for their support and apologize for any inconveniences that we may have created temporarily. At Kern Avenue School, we have installed new doors on building G for all classrooms. In addition, the new portables are completed and sidewalks have been poured around them. The asphalt for basketball courts at Kern Avenue has been completed. We are in the process of upgrading all the bark in the Kern Avenue playground areas and removing the sand from under the swings. The tree roots in front of the office at Kern Avenue have been removed to prevent children, parents, and staff from tripping. At McFarland Middle School, all three handicap lifts were upgraded to ADA standards. The security lights on the school facilities have been repaired. The grounds crew is working very hard to fix all sprinklers to improve the efficiency of the watering system at the Middle School. At McFarland High School, we have completed separating a room to create more classroom space. We are building an office space in the Counselor s Office to provide better service for the students. The lights on the gymnasium have been fixed to insure safety and security. We are in the process of repairing the tennis courts so that the water and mud stays off the court. Four trees were removed at the high school, two trees were deceased and two trees were dying in the planter in front of the school. These trees were replaced with low growing shrubs to help enhance the appearance of the high school. We have many more projects planned to improve our quality of service for the community of McFarland. Our goal is to provide this community with quality places to send their children to learn and play and to ensure that our schools are clean and safe. Additionally, provide a place that the parents and children in this community are proud to go to. This community is very fortunate to have very hard working and caring maintenance, grounds and custodial staff to help ensure that the children are receiving the best quality education and service possible. Robert Matheny Director of Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation From the Technology Department

6 McFarland Unified School District nd Street McFarland, CA Gabriel McCurtis Superintendent Maria Gonzalez-Salgado Int. Dir. of Curriculum & Instruction K-5 th Kim McManaman Dir. of Curriculum & Instruction 6 th -12 th Cynthia Virrey Human Resource Coordinator Sean McGinn Interim Chief Business Official David Lopez Director of Information Services Robert Matheny Director of Maintenance, Operations, & Transportation (661) Visit our web site at: Linda Townson Interim Director of Food Services (661) Sandra Espinoza Director of Migrant Education (661) Mary Williams Smith, Director of Special Education (661) Margie Perez, Interim Director of Family Resource Center (661) Browning Road Elementary Mario Torres, Principal (661) Kern Avenue Elementary Ty Bryson, Principal (661) McFarland Middle School Roberta Burgh, Principal (661) McFarland High School Martin Schmidt, Principal (661) McFarland Learning Center Smith Efada, Principal/Director of Ed Options (661) McFarland Unified School District nd Street McFarland, CA 93250