Every Student Learning Every Day

TTUSD E-Update from Dr. Rob Leri, Superintendent and Chief Learning Officer
September 13th, 2012

 Thanks to everyone for a great start to the school year! Welcome to our latest E-Update.  

• New District Vision and Beliefs Announced:  As part of a wonderful event launching the start of school, TTUSD staff participated in a Welcome Back Convocation at North Tahoe High School on August 27 where I presented the new vision and beliefs for the district. Our vision is the result of several months of meetings with the Board of Trustees and months of listening and learning what parents, students, staff, and the community members want our district to embody. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to officially adopt this vision at their meeting on September 5. Watch for opportunities to learn about the new vision and beliefs and the next steps for a strategic pathways plan to implement them:

TTUSD Vision 

All Tahoe Truckee Unified School District scholars will be provided challenging and engaging learning opportunities in order to thrive and be successful in a globally competitive age. This goal will be accomplished through collaboration with students, parents, staff and the community, united in dedication to our children’s future.  

Highly skilled, motivated and caring principals and teachers will engage scholars in effective and innovative instruction through a rigorous and relevant curriculum that promotes mastery of meaningful content, creativity, critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving, respect for diversity, the ability to communicate in multiple languages and the effective use of technology. 

A culture of quality, accountability, responsibility and respect shall characterize the school district. 

(Please see http://www.ttusd.org/vision for the full district Vision and Beliefs.)

• Start of School Year: I was happy to visit several schools on the first day of school on August 29. I greeted staff and students on their way into classrooms and was delighted to see that students were already learning on their first day. Tahoe Truckee High School ASB President  Sarah Williams and North Lake Tahoe High School ASB President Patrick McElravey came to the September 5 Board of Trustees meeting to report how the 2012/2013 was going so far at their schools. McElravey mentioned that the students were excited about the reinstated football program, welcoming new teachers and staff, and noted that they had more Hispanic students in their leadership program than ever before and they are looking forward to further unifying students at NTHS through their cultural liaison program. Williams mentioned that they were also happy to have new teachers and librarians on board and that new principal “Mr. D” was getting great reviews. Williams also reported that the assigned permit parking has been a big improvement, that students were happy about the new courses available to the, and said that there was generally a very “positive vibe” among students.
  
  
• Tahoe Truckee All-America City Update: Thanks to everyone who actively participated in Tahoe Truckee Reads programs over the summer. We continue to celebrate our achievement of being named one of 14 All-America cities nation-wide for 2012 and work toward our goal of improving reading levels for all students by third grade. Research shows that reading in early years is critical to enhancing children’s brain development and engaging students for successful lifelong learning. Here are six steps for success in making reading a positive experience with your infant, toddler, or preschool-age children, from Ruth Jackson Hall, Early Learning Coordinator for the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District: 

1. Select quality literature. Find book lists and recommendations at your local library and bookstore.

2. Read the book to yourself before reading to understand the story line and know what voice and inflections to use.

3. Create the mood by inviting your child to snuggle up and read, but even if your child isn’t sitting next to you, he will benefit from the warmth of your voice and the language of the book.

4. Interact with your child during the story by asking what she thinks will happen next, or point to an illustration and ask what colors she sees.

5. Be patient in answering questions—questions mean he is engaged and interested.

6. Have fun! Research shows that parents who convey reading as entertaining and fun create a love of reading in their children. 

(For more tips and the full article: Tips on how to read to infants, toddlers, preschoolers, go to: http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20120725/NEWS/120729963&parentprofile=search)

• Attendance: As I mentioned in my welcome back letter, I was surprised to see that we have an attendance problem in the district. Regular attendance is important not only for individual student’s learning, but research has shown that chronic absences can affect the instruction of the whole class. District administration and I are analyzing the attendance data and we are looking at the causes of chronic absences (missing 10% or more of school days in a year) and we are in the process of developing a new attendance policy and raising awareness about the importance of regular attendance.  We will work with principals and parents to help curb chronic absenteeism problems before they reach the county and state board.  For more information about how chronic absenteeism in the district, please see yesterday’s article in the Sierra Sun: http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20120911/NEWS/120919982
   
• Minimum Days: Yesterday was our first minimum day for the school district. Please plan ahead and let your student’s teacher know in advance, if possible, of any transportation or pickup changes due to the earlier departure. At the least, please send a note with your K-5 child if their transportation differs on a minimum day. The rest of the minimum days for 2012 are as follows: October 24, November 28, and December 12. The minimum days and holidays calendar for the 2012/2013 is posted here, for your reference: http://www.ttusd.org/Download.asp?L=0&LMID=93490&PN=DocumentUploads&DivisionID=&DepartmentID=&SubDepartmentID=&SubP=&Act=Download&T=1&I=178672
  
  
• Back to School Nights: Back to school nights are underway. Back to school nights are an important resource to connect with your child’s teachers and staff and to gain important information to help in your child’s studies throughout the year. Parent engagement is critical to your student’s success throughout school. The remaining Back to School nights are as follows: Donner Trail Elementary School, September 20; Glenshire Elementary School, September 18 (for Grades K-2, 3-5 was on September 11); King’s Beach Elementary School, September 20^th; North Tahoe School, September 18; North Tahoe High School, September 13; Cold Stream Alternative, September 24; Sierra High School, September 26; and Tahoe Truckee High School, September 25.

Thanks for your support. If you’d like to email me with any comments or suggestions, my email address is rleri@ttusd.org. 

Rob Leri
TTUSD Superintendent Chief Learning Officer