Denair Charter Academy will host its annual Spring Family Night on Tuesday, April 15 on campus from 5 to 6 p.m.
Family members and friends of the 53 homeschool students in grades K-8 and the 127 independent study high school students are invited to attend. For students, it is a chance to show off projects they’ve worked on or created, play games with other families or their teacher, and enjoy pizza, drinks and music together.
All students who attend will be entered into a raffle to win cake pops and cookies made by DCA sophomore Eshperancah Brun, who has started her own bakery called Eshpe’s Sweet Tooth.
“It is a great way to build relationships between the families and staff,” said DCA Principal Jamie Pecot.
DCA representatives also will talk about the campus’ many exciting new programs, including floral arrangement, ceramics and science courses.
Social media, videos and podcasts are ubiquitous in the life of today’s teenagers, most of whom have only known a world of ever-evolving multimedia choices. Understanding how to create content and navigate that landscape – while having a little fun doing it – is one of the goals of a popular class at Denair High School.
At Thursday night’s meeting of the the Denair Unified School District board, trustees and the audience got a peek behind the curtain when the teacher and three of his students delivered a fun presentation about the Denair Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (DESPN).
The goal of DESPN is to provide opportunities for the 21 students in the class to practice their communication skills, exercise their creativity and develop shared responsibility through working collectively to create content and promote events for Denair High. All of the skills used are aimed at preparing students for post-secondary opportunities, explained the students and teacher Anthony Armas.
Videos, the “Coyote Crib” podcast and other content are recorded biweekly and available on Spotify, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Some content also appears within separate videos produced by the student leadership members and shown to the whole campus each Friday during second period.
As its name suggests, DESPN is a not-to-subtle tribute to ESPN, the global sports broadcasting behemoth based in Connecticut.
And while the main focus of DESPN is on sports broadcasting, it also has a component on athletic leadership and how sports can have a positive impact on a student’s overall well-being. One video includes a friendly reminder to Denair students about how to treat athletes and fans from other schools. Another discussion centered around favorite foods. Students frequently wear their team uniforms or dress up to portray specific themes, like the pilgrims on Thanksgiving.
It’s clear the students in front of the cameras are having fun, even if the underlying goals are more serious. Students learn about communication skills, video editing, graphics editing, collaborating with classmates, organizational skills and time management – all important traits in whatever career they may pursue later in life.
“I would also say it provides students with an organic way of working on their literacy skills, which is a focus not only at the high school, but across the district,” said DHS Principal Breanne Aguiar.
Armas said all the content is driven by the students, who brainstorm when they meet daily in fifth period. Nothing is off-limits, as long as it’s appropriate for a student audience and not offensive.
“We have a general starting point for each podcast, but try to go wherever the conversation takes us,” he said.
Trustees also heard updates from Daisy Swearingen, the district’s chief business official, on some important building and security projects Thursday night.
She said plans are under way for a major modernization of Denair Elementary Charter Academy. The project includes relocating and upgrading the kitchen and multipurpose room, redesigning the main office, adding new classrooms, fixing existing portable classrooms, and modernizing the older classroom wings shared by DECA and Denair Charter Academy next door. New classrooms also are planned at Denair High School.
Board members also voted unanimously to hire companies to install video security cameras at all campuses, upgrade technology-related cabling throughout the district and create a facilities master plan.
EKC Enterprises of Fresno will install cloud-based video surveillance systems at a cost of $304,810.
GigaKOM of San Diego will do a complete rip-and-replace of all existing cabling infrastructure to ensure reliable network connectivity across all sites. The total project cost is $404,444.
Caldwell Flores Winters, Inc. (CFW) of Emeryville will develop a comprehensive Facilities Assessment and Implementation Plan, which is required for the district to tap into state construction funds. The plan will cost $50,000 and is due this fall.
Swearingen said the projects will be paid for by the Measure Z school bond passed by local voters last fall as well as a combination of state funding sources.
In other action Thursday, the board:
Applauded with the audience after Kathi Dunham-Filson was sworn in as the newest trustee. She replaces Crystal Sousa, who resigned last month. It is a familiar role for Dunham-Filson, who served on the Denair board from 2013 until November 2024, when she lost her re-election bid. She was chosen by the other four trustees earlier this month after public interviews with three finalists who applied to fill out the remainder of Sousa’s term, which ends in November 2026.
Listened as Superintendent Terry Metzger outlined the district’s summer school plans. At the elementary and middle school level, there will be 23 days of extended learning for 150 students who will be in kindergarten through seventh grade next fall. High school students who need to make up a class they received an “F” in – a process known as credit recovery – will have up to 20 days at DCA. There also will be 20 days of extra instruction for up to 24 qualifying special education students. All the summer school classes begin May 27.
Unanimously approved the addition of a one-semester ethnic studies class next year at Denair High. In 2021, the California Legislature passed a bill adding ethnic studies to graduation requirements, beginning with the class of 2030. Ethnic studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the culture, history and experiences of different racial and ethnic groups in the United States, particularly people of color and other historically marginalized groups.
Hired Merced Fencing to replace and upgrade fencing around the high school baseball field. New gates will provide secure entry down the access road between a new housing development to the west and school property, extending to the ag farm, and will create an additional access gate to the farm. The total project cost is $222,510. Of this, $150,000 will be paid by the developer, with the remainder covered by developer fees and/or Measure Z.
Designated May 5-9 as the Week of the Teacher and May 18-24 as Week of the Classified School Employee.
Students at Denair Elementary Charter Academy will mark International Day of the Child on Wednesday with an afternoon of fun events to celebrate cultures from around the world.
The event will take place on campus from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Parents, family, friends and community members are invited. There will be games, booths, food and music for all to enjoy.
International Day of the Child was inspired by Children’s Day, which has been celebrated annually in Mexico since 1925 to recognize children as an important part of society and to emphasize loving, accepting and appreciating them. DECA began participating in International Day of the Child about five years ago.
“This event celebrates the wealth of cultures present in our school and community and provides an opportunity to showcase and appreciate our shared similarities,” said DECA Principal Laura Cardenas.
There are several performances involving students scheduled Wednesday.
Denair Middle School’s World Languages Club members will show off their dancing skills in the gym starting at 2 p.m. They will be followed by DECA students in first through fifth grades, who will perform cultural dances from 2:30 to 3 p.m. Kindergarteners from DECA’s dual immersion classes also will sing and put on a cultural fashion show.
Cardenas said there are multiple classrooms activities throughout the school year that provide important background and context to help students appreciate International Day of the Child.
For instance, she said lessons about social studies and geography expose students to
different countries, cultures, traditions, customs and global citizenship. Spanish classes include stories or poems inspired by other cultures.
Arts and crafts allow students to create things that represent other ways of life. And learning about and performing music and dances from around the world opens children’s minds to other perspectives.
Finally there is there is an element of social-emotional learning when students participate in discussions about diversity, empathy, understanding and respecting different cultures.
Trustees in the Denair Unified School District turned to a familiar face to fill a vacancy on the board Thursday night, unanimously choosing to appoint Kathi Dunham-Filson.
Dunham-Filson was one of three applicants interviewed publicly Thursday at a special board meeting. The others were Cheryl Rice and Johnny Chavez II. All sought to fill the opening created when former Trustee Crystal Sousa resigned last month. The term runs through November 2026.
The board opted to appoint a replacement for Sousa rather than call for a costly special election. In Dunham-Filson, they found an experienced successor.
Dunham-Filson first joined to the board in 2013 – when the district was in deep financial trouble — and was twice re-elected. Last fall, she finished fourth in a five-way race for three seats that saw newcomers Andrea Bennett and Jason DeMuro elected for the first time and incumbent Ray Prock Jr. re-elected.
In her application for the open seat, Dunham-Filson said her decision to apply was “driven by a deep commitment to the continued success of our schools.”
“While we have made significant progress – restoring financial stability, maintaining a responsibly balanced budget for the past decade and fostering positive relationships with our schools and community – there is still important work to be done,” she wrote. “Through strategic hiring, we have brought in the right people and the right time to meet the district’s evolving needs. I am eager to contribute my knowledge and leadership to help navigate the road ahead, ensuring that Denair Unified remains a thriving district for students, staff and families alike.”
Dunham-Filson has a deep understanding of educational issues, having worked for the Stanislaus County Office of Education for many years.
“Having an experienced and dedicated board member come back to the board helps to ensure that we don’t lose momentum as a district,” said Denair Superintendent Terry Metzger. “Kathi is a champion for our mission, programs and families.”
Prock, the board’s current president, also cited Dunham-Filson’s knowledge of education as an asset. He also applauded her for her leadership in helping to pass Measure Z last fall, a school bond that will provide money to upgrade and add to the district’s facilities for years to come.
“Her commitment to students is unwavering, she was instrumental in the recent success of Measure Z and will be a great addition to our governance team and our commitment to continue improving student successes,” Prock said.
Dunham-Filson will be sworn in at the April 10 board meeting.
The Denair Unified School District board is seeking qualified applicants to fill a vacancy created when Trustee Crystal Sousa resigned March 14.
Community members who live within the district’s boundaries and are registered to vote are eligible to apply. Applications are available at the district’s office and also can be downloaded from the district’s website. Applications will be accepted Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until March 28.
At a special meeting Monday morning, the remaining four trustees decided to appoint Sousa’s replacement rather than hold a costly special election. The vacant term ends in November 2026.
Trustees Ray Prock Jr., Billy Myers, Andrea Bennett and Jason De Muro will hold a special board meeting April 3 at 5 p.m. to interview all the qualified applicants. After discussion, trustees will hear public comment and then vote that night to choose Sousa’s successor. The new trustee will be sworn in at the April 10 board meeting.
Those with questions about the process should contact Jasmin Baltazar, executive assistant to superintendent and board, at (209) 632-7514, ext. 1202, or jbaltazar@dusd.k12.ca.us
