Tag Archives: board meeting

DECA Petition Up For Final Approval By DUSD Board

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

A new elementary charter school that would include Spanish instruction for all students with rigorous core subjects and exposure to fine arts tops the list of items to be considered Thursday night by the Denair Unified School District board of trustees.

The proposal calls for Denair Unified School District to form a new school known as Denair Elementary Charter Academy, or DECA, for the 2015-16 school year.

DECA’s mission, according to the proposed new charter, “is to provide students with an engaging, nurturing, equitable learning environment that promotes the development of skills necessary for the 21st century.”

One of the innovative features of the new charter school would be a dual immersion English/Spanish class for kindergarteners. The class would follow the 90% Spanish and 10% English dual immersion model, said Principal Sara Michelena. The goal is to have a 50/50 mix of English and Spanish speakers. The intent, she said, is to add a dual immersion class at successive grade levels each year as the first group of kindergartners gets older.

All other DECA students also will have regular Spanish instruction, Michelena said. In addition, the new charter school would have two 30-station computer labs to teach tech skills and would continue to focus on arts enrichment for all students. Even at the elementary level, there will be an emphasis on building a college-going culture and “assist students to become self-motivated, competent, lifelong learners.”

Parents and community members can weigh in on the new charter at Thursday night’s meeting. Trustees have until the end of April to adopt the rewritten charter petition and send it to the state, which must give final approval.

Thursday’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the district’s board room at 3460 Lester Road.

Positive Momentum Continues To Build For DECA

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Potential kindergarten enrollment is only one small measure of public enthusiasm for the proposed Denair Elementary Charter Academy. Still, the early response is overwhelmingly positive.

Already, there are 88 children signed up for kindergarten next fall. That compares to 85 kindergartners on the two elementary campuses today.

“We typically have two-thirds of our enrollment by mid-March, so that’s very good,” elementary Principal Sara Michelena told Denair Unified School District trustees Thursday night.

The meeting was the first opportunity for the board and members of the public to review plans for a revamped elementary charter school, which will be known as DECA beginning with the 2015-16 school year. It will replace the separate and adjacent elementary programs that exist today — Denair Elementary School and the Denair Academic Avenues.

One of the primary goals in writing a new charter, Michelena explained, was to blend the best of both current campuses, which together have about 500 students in kindergartens through fifth grade.

A key attraction for parents of current charter school students has been the Spanish component. Michelena said DECA will build upon that, offering all students 30 minutes of Spanish instruction Monday through Thursday. And DECA will introduce a dual immersion option for kindergarten where students will be taught 90% in Spanish and 10% in English.

Already, there are 26 students signed up for that class, with five more on a waiting list. A second class could be added if there 40 students, Michelena said. Going forward, she said the intent is to add a dual immersion class at successive grade levels each year as the first group of kindergartners gets older. Continue reading “Positive Momentum Continues To Build For DECA” »

DUSD Eliminates Need for Fiscal Oversight as Declining Enrollment Continues

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

First, the good news: The Denair Unified School District has emerged from financial crisis a year ahead of schedule and no longer requires oversight from state-mandated advisers and the Stanislaus County Office of Education.

Next, the less good news: While the number of elementary students continues to grow, enrollment at Denair High School still is trending lower for 2015-16. Unless that changes, it will require the equivalent of two teaching positions be eliminated and a slight reduction in class offerings in the next school year.

Those contrasting reports shared the spotlight at Thursday night’s meeting of the DUSD Board of Trustees, where the pride of having successfully navigated through near-bankruptcy was offset by the fiscal challenges that remain and the potential impact on the teaching staff.

Denair High School has 312 students this year, down from a high of 374 in 2006-07. By next fall, initial projections anticipate a decline to 270 students. To deal with that, trustees approved the elimination of a single class in 12 subject areas Thursday.

“What this effectively means is that there will be partial layoffs at our high school,” Superintendent Aaron Rosander said.

A full-time instructor, he explained, teaches six sections, or classes, a day. It’s likely, Rosander said, that some teachers will have less than six classes next year and see a corresponding reduction in pay.

“Whole teaching positions are not expected to be eliminated and our comprehensive high school with its college preparatory programs will remain solidly in place,” he said. Continue reading “DUSD Eliminates Need for Fiscal Oversight as Declining Enrollment Continues” »