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

Math is important. It touches people’s daily lives in a myriad of ways, whether it’s paying bills, balancing a checkbook, figuring out the best value at the grocery store, filing tax returns or even measuring the ingredients in a favorite recipe.

And despite its serious reputation, math is not something to be feared. It also can be fun. 

That was part of the message from four Denair Middle School math teachers at Thursday night’s meeting of the Denair Unified School District board. 

One of the keys to math instruction at DMS, the teachers shared, is to engage students in their classes. That means lessons layered with practical examples of how math is used every day. It involves using math to foster a growth mindset in students. And it even means involving families as they prepare meals together.

“We hope that students leave DMS with a positive mindset around their mathematical abilities,” said sixth-grade teacher Emma Mendes.

Sixth-graders are exposed to many areas that have math connections. They fill out a job application and learn interview skills. They are asked to work in teams to create a business plan, complete with a budget, business license and accounts payable/receivable element. They have to calculate taxes they may owe. 

All the tasks lead up to Market Day in the final week of the school year, which includes a lively auction on the last day of class. Amid all the fun, important math-related lessons are delivered.

“It shows them how to divide tasks and take responsibility for those tasks when working with others,” said teacher David Rodriguez. “It also builds confidence to responsibly handle and manage money.”

In seventh grade, students participate in interactive math learning labs, work collectively in i-Ready study groups and practice for tests, and are exposed to model thinking and reasoning with math.

The goal, explained teacher Erin Sniatecki, is to institute a “growth mindset” in students.

“We work to understand mistakes because they allow real thinking to happen so we can learn,” Sniatecki said.

One of the fun math-related projects in eighth grade is known as “cooking with proportions, a delicious math activity for families.”

Instructor Roxi Lagos asks families to take a favorite recipe (her family made pizza) and scale it in proportions using math principles. The feedback so far has all been positive.

“We made sourdough cinnamon rolls as gifts this year, so that meant doubling the recipe and working through correct conversions and proportions,” said parent Ali Loftin, who cooked with her daughter. “This has helped her so much with learning about fractions and using math in a real-world way. When we saw your pizza activity, we actually made a sourdough pizza crust. Thank you for sharing your love of math with her.”

With math scores on mandatory tests lagging, creating and fostering interest as well as ability in math is critical to preparing this generation of students for their futures.

“Lower math scores are a national issue, not just a Denair issue,” Sniatecki said.

Superintendent Terry Metzger as well as the trustees applauded the DMS teachers for their efforts.

“This presentation really helped us see the progression in math from sixth through eighth grade,” Metzger said. “You are preparing students well for higher level math courses in high school. I’m particularly impressed with the opportunities you are giving students to do item-and-error analysis as a way to think critically about math.”

In other action Thursday, the board: 

• Accepted the resignation of Trustee Crystal Sousa, who joined the board in 2017 and was re-elected in 2022. “While stepping down is a difficult decision, I am currently looking to expand my career opportunities and I want to keep all of my options open,” Sousa explained. The remaining four trustees now must decide whether to appoint a replacement within 60 days or hold a special election to fill out the remainder of Sousa’s term, which runs through the November 2026 election.
• Voted unanimously to eliminate three vacant positions in the 2025-26 budget and reduce the hours of two more employees due to declining enrollment. The jobs that will be cut are a campus supervisor at Denair Elementary Charter Academy, one registrar at Denair Charter Academy and a special education paraeducator at Denair High School. The positions to have a reduction in hours both are at DCA – the principal’s secretary (12 months to 11 months) and a paraeducator (five days to three days).
• Heard a report from the principals at DHS and DCA and two of their instructors about a new one-semester class on ethnic studies, which will be offered next fall. In 2021, the California Legislature passed a bill adding ethnic studies to high school 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. Denair with host a parent preview night to discuss the proposed class on March 27 at 6 p.m. in the DHS library. Trustees will decide at their April meeting whether to adopt the proposed curriculum.
• Listened as Amanda Silva, senior director of student services, explained how a new reading screener process mandated by the state will work starting this fall. All students in kindergarten and first and second grades will be evaluated. Just like the hearing and vision screeners done each year in fall, winter and spring, universal screeners for reading are intended to catch concerns that may impact learning while they are still in the early stages. Screening is designed to help districts identify who might need extra support. It is up to the district to determine what form that support takes. Silva said screening is not a formal assessment, will not be used to diagnose or determine eligibility for special education, and will not be used to evaluate teachers.
• Invited residents in the district to apply to serve on the Measure K and Measure Z Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. There currently are two vacancies on the seven-member panel, with the other terms of the other five volunteers to expire this year. Anyone interested can pick up an application at the district office. Questions should be directed to Chief Business Official Daisy Swearingen at dswearingen@dusd.k12.ca.us
• Approved the 2025-26 school calendar. The first day of school will be Wednesday, Aug. 6. School will be out the week of Nov. 24-28 for Thanksgiving break, Dec. 22 to Jan. 5 for Winter break and April 3-10 for Spring break. The last day of school will be Thursday, May 21. Graduation ceremonies will be May 20 for Denair Charter Academy and May 22 for Denair High School.
• Accepted a bid from EMCOR Services Mesa Energy of Irvine to repair and upgrade heating and air conditioning systems at all four district campuses. Work will start soon and is projected to be completed by Aug. 30. The $382,320 project is being completely paid for by restricted state grant funding the district has received.

Two longtime supporters of students and programs in the Denair Unified School District will be honored next month as part of a countywide celebration of businesses, service clubs and individuals.

Turlock Feed and Livestock Supply and the Denair Lions Club will be recognized by the district for their contributions on April 10 at a luncheon in Modesto hosted by the Stanislaus Partners in Education (SPIE).

For many years, Turlock Feed and Livestock Supply has provided job opportunities for Denair High special education students as part of the adult transition program at the school, which teaches important life skills to those students.

“Your commitment to our program has made a significant and positive impact on our students, helping them build the confidence and independence necessary to develop key skills for future employability,” DHS Principal Breanne Aguiar wrote in a letter to the business. “As one of our longest-standing partners in the adult transition program, we are truly grateful for the vital role you play in enriching their learning journey.”

The Lions Club also is another consistent contributor to Denair Unified. Most recently, club members bought and installed a new scoreboard at the Ron Cornell Baseball Field at the high school.

“This new addition will enhance the overall game-day experience and serve as a lasting symbol of your club’s dedication to the success of our students,” Aguiar wrote to the club. “The Denair Lions Club has continually demonstrated an exceptional level of generosity and community spirit by supporting numerous initiatives across the district. Your ongoing efforts help provide our students with valuable resources and opportunities that foster growth, learning and teamwork.”

Mary Lewellen, owner of Turlock Feed and Livestock Supply, and John Macedo, the Denair Lions Club president, each have accepted the district’s invitation to attend the April 10 luncheon.

SPIE helps to develop education and industry relationships that provide a diverse range of career-connected learning activities for both educators and students. Local K-12 and college education leaders partner with representatives from major regional industries and employers to create programs that improve what’s taught in the classroom to better prepare students for the workforce. 

Public speaking may not be high on the list of favorite activities for most teen-agers, but two Denair High students flipped that script by recently excelling in regional speech competitions.

Zac Christianson and McKinley Binkley have shown that the combination of regular practice, focused preparation and the right experience can pay off with impressive performances.

Christianson, a senior, won the annual Lions Club speech contest last month, then finished first again in the Zone competition in Oakdale on March 6. That qualified him for the Regional event on March 24. 

Binkley, a junior, won the FFA TriRivers Section speech competition in the extemporaneous category, which earned her a spot in the Regionals on March 7 at Modesto Junior College. Christianson also qualified for the MJC event after coming in second in the job interview division.

Both students said learning to overcome the normal nervousness associated with public speaking is an valuable skill that will benefit them for years to come.

“I think it’s important for people my age to confidently speak in public because there are so many places where you will have to speak to a lot of people,” Christianson said. “Just like learning a new language, it’s better to learn these skills when you’re young because it sticks with you easier. The younger you learn, the better you will be.”

His winning Lions Club speech was about seven or eight minutes long and responded to the question 

“Is Artificial Intelligence a Friend or a Foe?”

“I said it was a friend and I used personal experiences I have had with artificial intelligence,” said  Christianson, who is a veteran not only of the Lions Club speech competition but also many FFA events.

“I was pretty nervous because I was mostly improvising my speech, which I am very glad I did because it came out way better because of it,” he said.

Binkley also previously competed in the Lions Club event, but it is in the FFA competitions that she has really shined. Last year, she finished in the top 24 in the state in the FFA’s impromptu category. This year, she entered the FFA’s extemporaneous division, where she had 30 minutes to craft a four- to six-minute speech about the ways that farmers use technology to improve production agriculture. To prepare this time, she has been coming to school an hour early on Tuesdays and Thursdays since November to work with her teachers and peers.

“I absolutely love competing in public speaking contest and highly encourage anyone who is interested in it to try it because of how much fun it is,” Binkley said.

Though she didn’t qualify for the state competition this year, she said competing has taught her “that I want to have a career where I can do public speaking because I love it and have worked so hard to be good at it.”

Billy Myers – a Lions Club member who helps organize the local event – encouraged more students to overcome their hesitance to public speaking and embrace the chance to learn an important skill.

“By writing and delivering a 10-minute speech, students are utilizing critical thinking skills while working on persuasion of an audience to their viewpoint citing sources and delivering information in a clear concise way,” said Myers, a local business owner who also serves on the Denair Unified school board. “Secondly, building public speaking skills early is a great benefit to students entering college or the workforce.”

In addition to Binkley and Christianson, five other Denair students competed in the FFA TriRivers Section competition: Makenzie Miguel, Aaliyah Rodriguez, Rin Rice, Gracie Brigham and Anthony Zavala. Rodriguez finished fifth in impromptu speaking, but only the top three in each division advanced to the MJC event.

In the Lions Club competition, Victor Sarmiento joined Christianson as the other Denair High entrant.

“We are very proud of our students,” said Roger Christianson, a Denair High ag instructor and Zac’s father. “It takes a lot for them to compete and a lot of practice to get where they got.” 

Denair Unified School District is extremely proud to announce that Student Board Member Zachary Christianson won the Lions Club Zone Level Speech Contest last night in Oakdale and will be advancing to the next level zone competition in Turlock on March 24th. Participants came from Ceres, Waterford, and Oakdale High Schools but Zac’s captivating and engaging speech content about artificial intelligence and powerful delivery clearly stood out among the judges in the competition.💜