Submitted by Denair Municipal Advisory Council
The Denair Municipal Advisory Council has posted the MAC Agenda for their March meeting, scheduled for March 1, 2016. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be held in the DUSD Board Room.
Author Archives: DenairPulse Editor
National FFA Week Starts With Students Riding Tractors to School
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
Some students ride the bus to school. Others walk or are dropped off by their parents. Denair High senior Tristan Haile and sophomore Bryson Prock did something completely different Monday – they came by tractor.
It was a fun way to kick off and draw attention to National FFA Week, which is being celebrated across the country by Future Farmers of America clubs like the one at Denair.
Bryson said he and his father borrowed the tractor idea from FFA organizations in the Midwest. They pitched it to school officials, who enthusiastically gave their blessing.
So Monday morning, Bryson climbed aboard his family’s Kubota M8560 and navigated his way to Tristan’s home, where she and her New Holland joined the two-tractor caravan to school. They parked the tractors near the ag shop on the high school campus.
“My dad and I had seen pictures of people doing this and thought it would be cool to do it here,” Bryson explained.
There were other fun parts to Monday’s first day of FFA Week. Most of the 120 Denair FFA members – and many of their classmates and teachers – wore camo clothing. At lunch time, there was “target practice” in which students tried to knock over plastic water bottles by throwing tennis balls.
The planned activities for the rest of the week look like this:
- Tuesday: A hay-bucking contest. Everyone is encouraged to wear an “ag” hat.
- Wednesday: A milk-drinking contest. The attire is blue and gold — the FFA colors.
- Thursday: A wood-stacking event. Plaid is the outfit of choice to honor lumberjacks.
- Friday: Kiss a pig day. Most of Denair High’s teachers will have a jar in their classrooms. Students will deposit loose change. Whichever teacher collects the most has to kiss a pig.
“It’s a fun way to advocate for ag and get the whole campus involved,” said first-year teacher Madison Weigel.
DCA Impresses Accreditation Officials with Quality of its ‘Personalized Education’ Programs
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
Dawn Allen is one proud principal these days. She and her staff at Denair Charter Academy recently received glowing reviews from a statewide accreditation agency for their unique approach to reaching and educating non-traditional students.
DCA prides itself on providing “personalized education opportunities” for its 326 students. It is an independent learning program for students at all grade levels that do not wish or are not able to attend a typical classroom setting. It combines academic rigor and high-quality instruction with the flexibility necessary to meet each student’s unique educational needs.
Recently, two members of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges visited the DCA campus. WASC reviews schools and, if they meet state standards, grants accreditation every six years. This month’s meeting with Allen and her staff was part of a planned, mid-cycle review.
The officials liked what they saw and heard, a fact that Allen was delighted to share with Denair Unified trustees.
“The teachers at DCA work very hard with their mind, but they also have a strong heart for their students and I could not have been more proud sitting in that meeting and hearing the questions that were being asked of the staff,” Allen told board members.
The principal said on the day the WASC officials arrived, there were 15 new students in the office waiting to be enrolled. It wasn’t something planned, she said, but was a powerful example of the reputation DCA has earned in the local education community.
“WASC is here to see what you got and sometimes they are a little challenging, but they wrote statement after statement on the relationship the teachers have with their students and their commitment to the school and our district,” Allen said. Continue reading “DCA Impresses Accreditation Officials with Quality of its ‘Personalized Education’ Programs” »
Denair Celebrates After County Panel Rejects Developer’s Petition to Redraw School Boundaries
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
The existing boundaries for the Denair Unified School District will remain intact, a county committee decided Wednesday night to loud applause by staff, students and community members.
The 10-member panel voted unanimously to deny a petition by a Turlock housing developer who sought to move land that has been in the Denair district for decades to the Turlock Unified School District.
The decision has major financial implications for Denair, which stands to collect more than $1 million in developer fees when the homes are built and hundreds of thousands of dollars more in annual state funding based on projected student attendance from children living in them.
“We’re ecstatic. It’s wonderful news for our community,” said Denair Superintendent Aaron Rosander.
There was a strongly pro-Denair sentiment at Wednesday’s meeting of the Stanislaus County Committee on School District Reorganization. Nearly 20 people spoke during the hour-long public comment period, all but two of them in favor of keeping 92 acres at the northwest corner of Tuolumne and Waring in the Denair district.
Despite the emotion at Wednesday’s meeting and during more than 3½ hours of public testimony in October, the end was anticlimactic. The committee members swiftly rejected developer Ron Katakis’ petition without comment, leaving it to attorney Chet Quaide to explain their reasoning. Continue reading “Denair Celebrates After County Panel Rejects Developer’s Petition to Redraw School Boundaries” »
DHS Principal Outlines Changes in Grad Requirements, Ag and AP Courses
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
Students at Denair High School could have stiffer graduation requirements, a revamped agricultural sciences curriculum and additional access to Advanced Placement classes in the next school year.
Principal Alecia Myers unveiled her ideas Thursday night at the meeting of the Denair Unified School District board. She came to Denair in July from the Milpitas Unified School District in Santa Clara County. She told the board that she has spent considerable time evaluating the high school curriculum, talking with staff and students, and analyzing various improvement options.
A key part of her proposal toughens math and foreign language requirements before students can graduate. Trustees signaled their support Thursday, but took no action. Public comment will be accepted at the March meeting, where the board could adopt new graduation standards.
Today, Denair students must take two years of math before graduation. The new requirements would add a third year for students in the class of 2018. Myers said the third year could be an AP class or a consumer algebra course focused on balancing a checkbook, understanding credit and applying for a loan.
“I thought it might send students over the edge,” Myers said, “but they were like, ‘Yeah, we need that.’ ”
Another reason to beef up the math requirements, she said, is because juniors take standardized state tests upon which school and district ratings are based. If students are not enrolled in math as a junior, those exams become more difficult.
Students in the class of 2020 also would have to take one year of a foreign language in addition to a year of fine arts. Today, Denair allows a year Spanish to meet the fine arts requirement. Separating those dovetails with CSU and UC entrance requirements, Myers explained. Continue reading “DHS Principal Outlines Changes in Grad Requirements, Ag and AP Courses” »