A state law passed three years ago that takes effect with the 2022-23 school year will require the Denair Unified School District to change when class starts and ends each day. The ramifications are likely to affect every student and every family in the district, Superintendent Terry Metzger told trustees at their monthly board meeting Thursday night.

Currently, school begins at 8 a.m. for all of Denair’s 1,200 kindergarten through 12^th-grade students. The law passed by the California Legislature and signed by the governor in 2019 says districts cannot start before 8 a.m. for middle school students or 8:30 a.m. for high school students. It was based on research regarding sleep deprivation in adolescents and the benefits of a later start time.

Metzger said all school districts are California are “grappling with this change.” For small districts like Denair, the ripple effect of starting and ending high school 30 minutes later each day will touch everyone.

Transportation is a key consideration, Metzger said. Most parents and/or caregivers of Denair students work outside the home and many of their children rely on them for transportation to and from school. That could be complicated with a school schedule change.

The district also has two bus routes that serve about 300 K-12 students. Metzger said the district cannot afford to have early buses for elementary students and later ones for middle and high school students.

In addition, Metzger said that the high school and middle school currently operate on the same schedule, which allows them to share staff.

The current schedule also allows older siblings to accompany younger children to school, something that could be problematic if Denair Elementary Charter Academy retains an 8 a.m. start time while the high school and middle school begin a half-hour later.

Metzger has had multiple discussions with staff and parents about the upcoming change, including a Zoom meeting Jan. 19 and face-to-face meetings in the following weeks. She also surveyed parents and 58 responded, many sharing ideas and expressing concerns about the schedule change.

Metzger said the advantage of moving the start times for all three campuses back to 8:30 a.m. are:

• Families could stay on the same schedule
• It allows collaboration and shared staff at DHS and DMS
• The district could continue to provide transportation for all students who need it

Metzger said the district also is exploring free before- and after-school child care options for parents.

No decision was made Thursday night. The scheduling issue is likely to be a discussion item at the board’s March meeting, with trustees expected to approve a final plan in April.

“This is going to impact families,” Metzger said. “There will be less time for homework. Sports are going to go later. It’s going to make dinner time and bedtime more challenging. While that may not be our responsibility, that’s a human factor that we are going to have to think about.”

Earlier in the meeting, trustees voted 5-0 to approve the 2022-23 school calendar. School will begin on Wed., Aug. 10. There will be no class Nov. 21-25 during Thanksgiving Week. Winter break is Dec. 19 through Jan. 2, with classes resuming Tues., Jan. 3. Spring break is April 7-14. And high school graduation will be Fri., May 26.

In other action Thursday night, trustees:

• Congratulated Metzger for being chosen as the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 7 Superintendent of the Year. The region is comprised of Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador counties. Metzger now will represent Region 7 in the statewide competition.
• Voted unanimously approve an updated COVID prevention and safety plan. Removed from the plan were references to distance learning and hybrid learning, which no longer are applicable (the handful of students still learning from home today are on independent study). Also modified were rules regarding contact tracing and testing, which no longer will be required for asymptomatic students. There was no relaxation of mandatory mask use for now, though Metzger expects updated guidance from state officials as early as next week.
• Voted 5-0 in favor of a comprehensive safety plan for the district.
• Heard a midyear update on the Local Control and Accountability Plans for the high school and middle school as well as the district’s two charter schools (DECA and Denair Charter Academy).

In soccer, like other sports, offense often gets much of the glory, but it’s defense that wins championships. Denair boys soccer coach Miguel Hernandez says that’s absolutely the case with the Coyotes this season. 

Only once this year has Denair allowed more than one goal in a game. That was way back on Nov. 19 in the first game of the season when Denair lost 2-0 to Hughson. Since then, the Coyotes have put the clamps on opponents, posting eight shutouts en route to the Southern League championship and earning the No. 1 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI playoffs that begin Thursday night.

Denair (13-1-5) will host eighth-seeded Ben Holt College Prep Academy (10-4-3) under the lights at 6 p.m. at Jack Lytton Stadium. The winner moves on to the semifinals Tuesday night against the winner of No. 4 Summerville and No. 5 Millennium. 

If Denair advances in the playoffs, Hernandez believes it will be in large part because of the team’s stingy defense, which allowed only 11 goals the entire season and at one point held opponents scoreless for five matches in a row.

“We did have best defense in the league, that’s what gave us the No. 1 seed,” said Hernandez, in his third and final season as the Coyotes’ coach. “That’s what I strive for. Defense wins championships.”

Hernandez said center back Angel Sanchez, a junior, and sophomore midfielder Emmanuel Renteria are the team’s top defenders.

“Sanchez is just all over the field,” the coach said. “And Renteria is incredible. He’s amazing. He’s just so versatile. He can do it all.”

Seniors John Hernandez (no relation to the coach) and Eddie Corral also are part of a defense that allowed only seven goals in 14 league matches. Denair went 9-0-5 in those contests, including a 2-0 shutout of Gustine last Friday at home that clinched the SL title.

Denair’s success this season is not a surprise. The Coyotes won a share of the league championship last spring, when COVID delayed and then shortened the season. But there were no playoffs, so there was no chance for them to test themselves on a larger stage.

“We had a good, strong young core last year,” Hernandez said. “I used not being able to go to the playoffs as motivation this year. We talked about that.”

Denair only has three seniors on the team. The top four scorers are sophomore Justin Hernandez (18 goals), junior Timothy Hernandez (13), Sanchez (11) and Renteria (10). The Hernandezes are not related to the coach.

“We’re still very young,” Miguel Hernandez said. “A lot of these guys will be coming back next year. The other coaches in our league talk about that.”

Hernandez doesn’t know much about Ben Holt, Denair’s first-round opponent. They had five opponents in common – Denair went 5-0 against those schools; Ben Holt was 4-1. The coach does expect an enthusiastic crowd to fill the stands.

“There’s a lot of excitement around the school about our team,” he said. “I told the guys we have to be humble and keep our feet on the ground and do what we do.”

Denair is as healthy as it’s been this season. The Coyotes did have some players miss some games in the middle of the season because of COVID, but Hernandez expects everyone to play Thursday night. All the players will take COVID tests on Wednesday.

If they win, the Coyotes will host the semifinal game on Tuesday night. The Section championship is Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.

The other side of the eight-team bracket features No. 2 Esparto, No. 3 Humphreys Able Charter, No. 6 Gustine and No. 7 Woodland Christian.

Regardless of how this season ends, it will be Hernandez’s final one as Denair’s coach. 

“I broke it to the guys Tuesday at practice,” he said. “It’s been a fun group to coach. I’ve had some of them going back to middle school, where I also coached them. We’ve created some great memories. I’d like to go out with a bang.”

Denair High School will host an orientation session on Wed., Feb. 9 for all eighth-graders who will be freshmen in the next school year. The students as well as their parents are strongly encouraged to attend the meeting, which will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Denair High gym.

School officials will explain the various academic and vocational programs and electives that are offered at Denair High. They will go over graduation requirements for the Class of 2026 as well as what is needed to prepare students to apply for four-year state colleges and universities. 

Booths representing Denair High sports teams as well as the many clubs and other organizations on campus will be set up and staffed by people with information.

Incoming freshmen – with their parents’ input and guidance – also will be able to start the process of signing up for their classes in the next school year.

There also will be representatives from various family resources agencies who can offer advice and referrals to health care and other providers.

Dinner will be served to students and their parents. The Coyote Cup of Kindness cart – operated by the special education students at DHS – will be serving drinks.

“Our goals for the evening are to not only inform, but excite our incoming freshman about all that high school has available for them,” explained Brittany Heinsaar, Denair High’s academic counselor. “Transitioning from middle school to high school is a big step, and especially for first-time students, a night like orientation can be very helpful. We want to create a space where families feel welcome, can get answers to any of their questions and to help make the transition easier for them as they embark on this next step.

“We very much hope to have both parents and students present. This is something for parents to enjoy in conjunction with their students.”

Orientation is scheduled for next week for the parents of the second class of Dual Language Immersion students planning to attend Denair Middle School for 2022-23 school year.

The meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Wed., Feb. 2 in the Coyote Center on the DMS campus. Parents of fifth-grade students currently in the DLI program at Denair Elementary Charter Academy are strongly encouraged to attend.

Middle school Principal Gabriela Sarmiento expects most, if not all, of this year’s 25 DLI fifth-graders to continue with the program next year. She said making connections early on with their families is important. Sarmiento and the two Spanish-language teachers at DMS will be at the orientation to explain the program, lay out expectations for students and answer any questions parents may have.

The Denair Unified School District began the Dual Language program – which teaches students in English and Spanish – eight years ago at the kindergarten level. The first group of students now are sixth-graders at DMS.

The middle school Dual Language students have two classes in Spanish – history and Spanish language arts – and the rest in English. Those include English language arts, math, science, physical education and an elective.

The Spanish to English ratio is 90% to 10% as students begin kindergarten, then gradually tapers to 50-50 by fourth grade. The goal, district officials say, is to allow students to become truly bilingual by the time they graduate from high school.

The DLI curriculum mirrors that learned by English-only students at all grade levels. Sarmiento – whose son is in the sixth-grade DLI class on her campus – said the first year of the program at the middle school has gone very well.

“I think the curriculum we have, which is consistent with our English programs, has been working out great,” she said. No changes are planned next year, she added.

Sarmiento said the DLI students “are held to a high standard” and she complimented this year’s sixth-graders on their attitude. “They’re a tight group,” she said. “They all get along so well.”

Anyone with any questions should contact the DMS office at (209) 632-9911.

Sarmiento said a separate orientation meeting for parents of non-DLI students is scheduled for March 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the Coyote Center.

A familiar face who has excelled in her current role soon will be taking on important new duties for the Denair Unified School District.

Daisy Swearingen — who has served as the executive assistant to the superintendent, chief business  official and Board of Trustees the past six years – has been promoted to director of fiscal services, Superintendent Terry Metzger announced Thursday. The move becomes official Feb. 1.

“When I joined the district in 2018, I very quickly saw that Daisy was a valuable asset,” Metzger said. “She is that rare combination of someone who is detail-oriented, yet can keep her eye on the big picture. I am thrilled to have her shift into this new position and am confident that she will do a fantastic job.”

Swearingen has a degree in human resources management and previously worked in operations, finance and management positions for a large supermarket company as well as the City of Manteca before coming to Denair in 2016. In her new role, she will replace Linda Covello, the district’s chief business official. Covello announced last month she will be leaving the district at the end of June to move out of state. The two women will work side by side over the next five months to get Swearingen up to speed on her new responsibilities, an opportunity Swearingen believes will be invaluable.

“I’ll really get to dig into the more technical pieces of the job,” Swearingen said.

Covello said the first order of business will be compiling what is known as the second interim budget report, which is due to the state by March 15 each year. The report quantifies where the district is in relation to its $19 million budget for 2021-22 – how much money has been spent from July through January as well as projections for the final five months of the fiscal year that runs through June.

“This will be our first reporting period together and will give Daisy a good overview of each of

the reports she will need to be familiar with,” Covello explained.

The training period also will give Swearingen time to learn the ins and outs of the district’s financial accounting system; the various pots of money, where funding comes from and what it can be used for; and the reporting requirements to state and county business officials.

Swearingen – with Covello’s assistance — also will take the lead in preparing the district’s 2022-23 budget, which is expected to be about $18 million. The difference in comparison to this year’s budget reflects a reduction in state and federal COVID-relief money the district expects to receive in the next budget cycle, Covello said.

“The technical parts of this job are highly complex, so having Linda and Daisy work together for the remainder of the fiscal year will significantly benefit the district and set Daisy up for success,” Metzger said. 

The difference in a director of fiscal services and a chief business official is a matter of experience, training and certification. Even before she applied for her new role, Swearingen already completed a six-month academy on education finances from the Association of California School Administrators. In February, she will begin a yearlong program with the California Association of Business Officials to receive certification as fiscal services director.

Certification as a chief business official requires two more years of training, which Swearingen intends to pursue. Her new duties also include managing three employees in the business department as well as supporting classified managers in food services, maintenance and technology.

Metzger is confident Swearingen’s skill set, experience and reputation within the district make her the ideal choice to lead the business department.

“Daisy is deeply connected to the district and the Denair community as a whole,” Metzger said. “She is constantly thinking about how to support staff, students and families, and all of our programs. She’s well-liked and respected across the district.”