DHS’s 2016 Grad Rate Continues to Exceed State and County Averages

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Submitted by Denair High School

Denair High School long has been a leader among all Stanislaus County campuses when it comes to graduating its students. That trend continued with the Class of 2016.

Denair compiled a 97.1% graduation rate – 66 of its 68 seniors earned a diploma last spring. That compares with an 83.8% rate among all schools in Stanislaus County and 83.2% in California.

In the past seven years, graduation rates at Denair High have been as high as 100% (2010-11) and never lower than 93.7% (2013-14). By comparison, Stanislaus has fluctuated between 74.9% and 84.6% while  the state was as low as 74.7% as recently as 2010-11.

“Student graduation rates reflect the dedication of our community and schools to the education and success of our students,” said Aaron Rosander, superintendent of the Denair Unified School District. “We are proud as well of our teachers and staff who continue to raise the academic rigor that best prepares today’s students for their challenges that await them in college and their professional careers.”

Many of Denair’s graduates attended public and private universities in California, while others have been accepted at prestigious colleges out of state.

College attendance is emphasized and encouraged at all grade levels, there are college application workshops, presentations from schools from the UC and CSU systems, and Denair High School’s counselor works with students and their families on enrollment, grant and scholarship applications.

“Going to college improves students’ job opportunities,” said Cherie Gresham, the counselor and college advisor at Denair. Continue reading “DHS’s 2016 Grad Rate Continues to Exceed State and County Averages” »

Denair Lion Easter Egg Hunt

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Submitted by Denair Lions Club
It’s time for the Denair Lions Club Annual Easter Egg Hunt! This tradition has been put on by the Lions for over 25 years. Almost 3000 eggs are boiled, colored then hidden in the grassy fields of Denair Elementary Charter Academy on Lester Road. The event is open to all children ages 10 and under and is free. There are five designated egg hunting areas, divided by age. Parents may only aid their child in the two lower age groups. There are major prize eggs for each group, which are either gold or silver, and regular colored eggs that are marked for smaller prizes such as candy fruity’s. It take the Lions Club about ten hours to prepare for this event, but from start to finish, only about fifteen minutes for the kids to hunt and find all the eggs.  According to event chairman Lion Glenn Deorksen, “It is the funnest event that we do all year for the community.”  This event continues to grow not only in popularity but in the number of children who attend.  It is estimated between 350-400 kids will show up this year!  The event starts at 8:50 am this Saturday.  Don’t be late, and be sure to bring your baskets!

DECA Establishes Little Free Library on Campus

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Submitted by Denair Elementary Charter Academy

There’s nothing like a book to open a child’s mind. No matter the age, a picture book, a fairy tale or a more modern story can spark a lifelong joy for reading and learning.

The children at Denair Elementary Charter Academy – and the larger Denair community – now have one more source for books.

Two weeks ago, a Little Free Library was installed on the DECA campus. As its name suggests, there is no cost for students of all ages to borrow a book from the library, return it when they’re done and even donate gently used titles from their own homes.

The Little Free Library program is a national movement that has grown in popularity in the past few years. DECA’s library is one of more than 30 in Stanislaus County.

The library was donated to the campus by Becky and Eric Julien, two retired teachers who live in Turlock but have strong connections with Denair. Becky taught for many years at Denair Elementary School and later at the Denair Academic Avenues charter school. Eric was a science instructor for 37 years at Turlock High School.

The Juliens live not far from and are close friends with DECA fifth-grade teacher and leadership adviser Brenda Ranes. When she mentioned the possibility of adding a Little Free Library to the DECA campus, the Juliens jumped at the chance.

They ordered a library kit online for $460 that included all the materials for the structure, plus $100 worth of books. It has two shelves, a Plexiglas door and shingles to help make it weatherproof. The library was pre-painted lavender, the closest color to Denair purple the Juliens could find.

When it arrived in February, Eric Julien oversaw construction of the project one day after school by DECA’s leadership team – fourth- and fifth-graders Vanessa Hulbert, Julia Hayes, Emily Roland, Isabelle Prescott and Alaiza Campos.

“I brought a power drill, hammer and the kit,” he said. “I don’t think any of the kids had used a power drill or hammer before. … It was a ton of fun. They traded using the safety glasses and took turns helping. The holes were pre-drilled. When they squeezed the trigger on the drill, I was afraid they were going to drill right through the wood.” Continue reading “DECA Establishes Little Free Library on Campus” »

Class Act! 10 Questions for Stephanie De Muro

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Submitted by Denair Elementary Charter Academy

Class Act – 10 questions for a Denair teacher

Name: Stephanie De Muro

Family: Husband Jason and son Casper

School: Denair Elementary Charter Academy

Subject taught: Special education for transitional kindergarten through fifth grade

Experience and education:  For my undergraduate degree, I attended Johnson & Wales University in Denver. I received my Master’s degree at CSU Stanislaus and my Multiple Subject and Special Education Credentials at Brandman University.

Why most inspires you about teaching? My students. I love it when they finally grasp a concept and I see the light come on.  They keep me searching and learning about new ways to teach them.  I want them all to succeed.  My students inspire me to do the best I can for them.

What are your biggest challenges as a teacher? The biggest challenge for me as a special education teacher is planning for all of the different levels of students I work with.  I also have to be a scheduling genius to be able to juggle an SDC class and RS caseload.  I have to be very organized and on top of all my deadlines, which can be challenging at times.

What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? I love teaching math and bring in a lot of manipulatives and hands-on activities to bring real meaning to math.  Math can be very difficult for my students and showing them how it pertains to the real world is important for their learning.

How has Common Core affected your classroom strategy? My students are unique and because of the way they learn I was already using some of the concepts that Common Core is teaching.  I use a lot of hands-on activities and tools to help teach concepts.  I think the biggest challenge with Common Core has been the curriculum. It assumes my students have more foundational knowledge than they do and there is not a lot of review.  A concept is taught and mastery is expected; that is not the case with my students.  I do a lot of re-teaching and spiraling. Continue reading “Class Act! 10 Questions for Stephanie De Muro” »

Improvements to Football Field Turf Already Evident

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

It’s no longer safe to be a gopher on the Denair High football field. Though not completely gone – yet – the critters that had turned the sod at Jack Lytton Stadium into a pot-holed minefield are almost completely gone and their tunnels filled in. In their place is an emerald carpet of smooth, lush turf.

The massive improvement in field condition is due to hard work on two fronts: Eradication and restoration.

The first phase included an aggressive trapping project that killed more than 50 gophers by the end of February.

“There are two or three active gopher holes on the football field,” said Facilities Director Brian Holloway. “I’m going to require therapy if I don’t get them soon.”

The second step happened in late February when the pros from West Coast Turf showed up.

Five dump trucks delivered about 125 tons of specially formulated sand, which was spread a quarter-inch deep across the turf. Small tractors loaded with a mixture of Kentucky blue grass and rye seed then worked their way from one end of the field to the other. Fertilizer was applied, followed by another quarter-inch of sand. The final step was to drag the field, helping to fill in the low spots to make for a more uniform surface.

The rains helped. So did all the recent sunshine. Holloway and his staff have kept everyone off the turf for now. The field is mowed twice a week.

“The grass is thicker and greener than when I started,” said Holloway, who was hired in January 2016. “It’s no longer difficult to run on.” Continue reading “Improvements to Football Field Turf Already Evident” »