TAHOE TRUCKEE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS

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In an effort to offset high transportation costs, as well as providing better tracking of students, the Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) will launch a parent pay bus pass program for the 2009-2010 school year.

“Parent pay for bus service is a common practice throughout California,” explains Nanette Rondeau, TTUSD director of transportation. “We surveyed the neighboring school districts with similar programs, including South Lake Tahoe and Yuba City, to find out what they were charging. In the end, the school board opted for the plan with the least financial impact to Tahoe-Truckee families. Our fee schedule includes discounts for siblings, as well as free and reduced passes for eligible families.”

Rondeau says the district’s mission is to support student success through safe and efficient transportation. With that in mind, the district is implementing an electronic bus pass system that tracks the students getting on and off the bus.

Here’s how the system will operate. The TTUSD bus fleet is equipped with GPS units and card readers. Students will carry plastic cards that will be scanned by the reader – similar to the ski passes that are used at several Tahoe ski resorts. When boarding the bus the student will hear a beep as the card is scanned. The GPS tracker then posts the card number, time and location when the card was scanned.

“With this technology we can determine in real time when and where that student got on and off the bus,” Rondeau says.

After purchasing the pass, students will be issued a plastic card and a plastic loop strap (similar to a luggage tag) that will attach to a backpack. Students may also carry the passes in a purse or wallet. Printed on the card will be the student’s name, picture, assigned morning and afternoon bus stops.  For infrequent riders, a 20-ride pass is available.

The bus drivers will ask all students to show their pass and listen for the beep from the reader acknowledging that the card has been scanned. Those students who have the pass attached to their backpack will simply turn the pack towards the reader and listen for the beep. Those who carry the card in their purse, pocket or wallet must be ready to display the pass upon entry to the bus. 

All passes must be purchased in advance and bus drivers will accept no cash. No students will be denied transportation at any bus stop in the morning unless they have lost their transportation privileges.

TTUSD Bus Pass Program Purchase Primer

• Requirements: In order to ride the school bus to and from school all students – pre-kindergarten through 12th grade -- must purchase a pass. All students riding the bus must have an application on file and a valid bus pass in their possession. Upon distribution of transportation passes all students must show/scan their pass when boarding the bus in the morning, midday and afternoon.
• Purchase By Mail: To purchase pass by mail, send the application (downloadable here) and fee to TTUSD, Transportation Maintenance & Operations (TMO), 12485 Joerger Dr., Truckee, Ca. 96161. Students will be required to have their photo taken before distribution; those who elect to submit applications by mail will need to bring their children to one of the sites to get their photos taken and receive their passes (see dates and locations below).
• Purchase At TMO: Visit the district’s Transportation Management Office at 12485 Joerger Dr. in Truckee on Aug. 25 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and again from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to process pass, including student photo.
• Free and Discounted Passes: For a free or reduced pass, a family must be verified through the Food Service Department. Food Service staff will be at schools on the dates listed above to process the free and reduced application. To determine eligibility, call Rose Wolterbeek at 582-2528.

Questions? Visit the transportation page on the TTUSD web site or call 550-0745.

2009/2010 Home to School Transportation Fee Schedule

* For free or reduced pass, a family must be verified through the food service department.
** The fourth (or more) child rides free.

DID YOU KNOW...?

Despite being in the midst of budget cuts and difficult decisions, we have much to celebrate at Tahoe Truckee School District (TTUSD). We are proud that our district is so passionate about its students and we would like to take this opportunity to share some of the many positives of TTUSD.

At the Elementary schools, teachers and staff will be able to participate in the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) at all locations. School sites will now have configurations that will enhance the benefits of this educational model, including both intervention and enrichment and new collaboration efforts. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to participate in music, art and physical education; playgrounds are at every school; transportation, lunch and breakfast programs will all be in place; and counselors will remain at the school sites.

At the Middle School level, students will participate in athletic programs, music/band, and other student activities such as dances for the older grades. Libraries and computer labs will be fully equipped. Again, intervention and enrichment will be in place to address every student’s needs. And, counselors will continue to be part of the staff at both middle schools.

At the two High Schools, athletics will be offered and music programs will continue. For the size of our schools, TTUSD is able to offer an unbelievable variety of Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors classes in Science, History, Math, Language Arts and Foreign Language. In addition, if eligible, students will be able to take advantage of dual credit opportunities through Sierra College, essentially taking college-level classes with virtually no tuition charges—a fantastic opportunity that we are very pleased to offer. Libraries, computer labs, clubs, counseling, and leadership opportunities are all programs that will remain in place for the upcoming school year.

In addition to the traditional offerings listed above, other alternative programs also exist, including Two-Way Immersion, the Ski Academy, Coldstream Alternative School Independent Study Programs, Sierra Continuation School, and others, which all have the benefit of being under the TTUSD umbrella for accreditation and give access to other district programs.

In addition, we are convinced that the quality of our programs will only improve under the PLC educational model that we put into action two years ago, and that we continue to roll out further each year. We urge you to learn more about this program by logging on to TTUSD.org; we have posted research and information and are excited to be entering year three of implementation.

We hope you will join us in furthering our efforts and continuing to work toward our mission: An unrelenting commitment to improving student learning!

TTUSD TAKES ACTION AGAINST H1N1 FLU
TTUSD is taking a proactive role in heading off the health situation posed by the H1N1 (Swine) Flu virus. Due to the fact that the virus is still present in our county and is expected to circulate even more this fall and winter, we have posted some information from the Placer County Health and Human Services Department on our home page. This outlines preventative measures you and your families can take, as well as symptoms to watch for. Information will be sent home with students in the coming weeks, and a vaccine - anticipated to be released in October - will be made available to families at select school sites, both Lakeside and in Truckee.

NEW PRINCIPAL BRINGS DIVERSE BACKGROUND TO TRUCKEE EL

Valerie Simpson has been hired to be the next principal at Truckee Elementary School.

Simpson, former principal of the K-5 Magnolia Elementary school in the Cajon Valley Unified School District in El Cajon, Calif., near San Diego, started at Truckee Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 17.

Simpson said she is familiar with the challenges which face Truckee Elementary, notably the performance gap between English Learners and native English speakers.

“I've been in diverse schools my whole career,” Simpson said. “I started my career in Southeast San Diego and my whole career have been working with diverse groups, working with English Learners, and I'm familiar with the issues where you need to bridge that achievement gap.”

She said at Magnolia, she came into the school to a troubled staff and low test scores. “One of the challenges I had there was I came in and the staff was disheartened, plus we needed to change those test scores,” Simpson said. “One of the first things we did was work to create a more positive atmosphere, to connect with parents and students and teachers and really improve our intervention time to support students that were lower performing.”

District Superintendent Steve Jennings said, among other qualities, the fact Simpson served as principal of a very socio-economically depressed school with good academic achievement is a plus.

“I went down there last week and everyone I spoke to was all very positive about the positive change she was able to create in her four years as principal there,” Jennings said.

Simpson, who has spent 20 years teaching and working as an administrator in the San Diego area, said her family has had a home in the Truckee area and has been vacationing here for some 30 years. She said she was attracted to the TTUSD because of its small size.

*Excerpted from an article by Kyle Magin, originally printed in the Sierra Sun on 8/11/09. Find the full version at http://www.sierrasun.com/..

TTUSD FOOD SERVICE OFFERS NEW OPTIONS
In order to make nutritious meals accessible to even more families, The Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) is streamlining its food service program for the 2009-2010 school year. Additionally, computer savvy parents will also welcome the district’s new on-line pre-payment service that makes the last minute morning search for the kids’ lunch money a thing of the past.

“In response to our current economic situation, last spring the school board decided to waive the reduced lunch program co-pay and make it free for those families as well,” says Rose Wolterbeek, TTUSD food services director.

During the past school year, Wolterbeek observed less participation in the reduced lunch program.

“The price for the reduced lunches was 40 cents, however families were still struggling especially those with several children,” she explains. “The school board voted to waive this fee to provide some relief to these families in need. This will make a huge difference to many people – it takes away a barrier and will increase school meal participation.”

The free meal program is based on eligibility. Parents (or heads of households) must fill out an application, which requires information on monthly income and number of people in the household. Wolterbeek emphasizes the importance of including all family members, especially non-school aged children. The application is available at every TTUSD school site, as well as the district office and transportation office. Additionally, parents may download the application at on the food service department's page of the TTUSD website.

“It’s easy to apply and we can process these applications fairly quickly, especially if parents make sure they fill them out completely,” Wolterbeek says.

A social security number is required on the application. Wolterbeek advises that if the applicant has no social security number, the word “none” should be entered.

For those who do pay for student meals, the school board also opted to keep prices at the 2008-09 rates. Lunches cost $2.75 for elementary school students and $3.00 for secondary students. The $1.25 breakfasts are offered at every school site except Donner Trail Elementary. 

To make paying for those meals more convenient TTUSD now offers a secure on-line pre-payment service to deposit money into a child’s school meal account at any time. By depositing money in each child’s account prior to entering the cafeteria, the lunch lines will be faster, allowing students more time to eat and socialize with friends.

For more information on the district’s free meal program or the on-line pre-payment service, click here or call the food service department at 582-2528 or 582-2529.