Tag Archives: Denair Elementary Charter Academy

New Principals Announced for Denair High School, Middle School and Elementary Campus

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

A Denair resident with a diverse and successful education background, an innovative elementary school teacher already in the district and an experienced bilingual instructor from Patterson were announced this week as the three new principals in the Denair Unified School District.

Kara Backman will take over at Denair High School, Kelly Beard will become the new leader at Denair Middle School and Lucy Zamora will take the reins at Denair Elementary Charter Academy.

The selections were revealed to teachers and other staff by Superintendent Aaron Rosander, who led a team that interviewed what he called six “outstanding” candidates last week.

Backman emerged as the choice to become the third principal in three years at the high school. She previously has served as principal at University Charter School in Modesto, Summit Charter Academy campuses in Porterville and Ceres, and Vanguard College Preparatory Academy in Empire.

Since 2011, she has been a managing associate at CT3 Education, traveling across the country to train other teaching coaches, school-based culture planning and leadership support based on No-Nonsense Nurturer Model and Real Time Teacher Coaching.

Her CT3 profile describes her as a “turnaround principal, a national transformational coach and a research-based, data-driven teacher.”

Denair High has battled with declining enrollment for the past few years. Backman says there are no easy answers, but that there is “a ton of opportunity” to add programs and improve academic performance.

“We have to figure out what our purpose,” she said. “What is going to be the identifier for Denair? What’s going to be the thing that draws children here?

“There have been changes in leadership at the high school the past couple of years and that can be a challenge. What I told them was this: ‘I’m not leaving. All three of my children will graduate from Denair High. I’m here for the long haul.’ ”

Backman and her husband, James, operate Small Town Genetics on property homesteaded decades ago by his grandfather. They have three young children – the oldest of whom will be in kindergarten at DECA next fall.

Her husband and many in his family graduated from the high school Backman now will lead. “It is very near and dear to my family. … We have some deep roots here.”

She called the decision to live in Denair “simple,” saying they were drawn by “a small, but rigorous community atmosphere embedded with high-quality education, rich agriculture and community trust.”

Backman has a bachelor’s degree from Fresno State University in agriculture education and animal science, and a master’s from San Jose State in educational leadership. She also was a member of Stanford University Principal Fellows Program in 2010. Continue reading “New Principals Announced for Denair High School, Middle School and Elementary Campus” »

Denair Unified Trustees Thank Staff for Patience, Approve 1% Salary Increases for All Employees

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Denair Unified School District trustees approved 1% salary raises for all employees Thursday night, the first step in what they hope will be additional moves to restore across-the-board pay cuts imposed three years ago.

Even as trustees passed the motion 4-0 (board member Ray Prock Jr. was absent), they acknowledged that would like to do more as financial conditions improve.

“I look at this as we’re finally able to give something back,” Trustee Robert Hodges said. “This is a good-faith effort that we’re going to (restore salaries) as soon as possible.”

Salaries for every Denair employee were reduced by 8% in 2013 as one part of an effort to bring the district’s expenses and revenue into alignment. The lingering effects of the recession and declining enrollment combined to push the district into financial crisis, which required a short-term loan from the Stanislaus County Office of Education and intervention by the state.

Those dark days are well in the past now, district officials stressed Thursday, but enrollment remains an issue. Denair Elementary Charter Academy and Denair Charter Academy have consistently added students, but that growth has been offset by continued declines at Denair High School.

Enrollment provides the biggest chunk of income for any district in California, with the state paying about $8,000 per student per year based on what is known as Average Daily Attendance. In Denair, ADA has fallen the past five years from 1,535 students to 1,275.

“Our major goal is to not just restore salaries to where they were, but to go beyond,” Superintendent Aaron Rosander said. “We want our employees to have the salaries that they rightfully deserve.”

The pay raises take effect July 1 for the 2016-17 school year. Collectively, they will add $98,499 to the district’s budget next year.

The district remains in contract negotiations with the two bargaining units representing its 60 teachers and 63 classified staff. Continue reading “Denair Unified Trustees Thank Staff for Patience, Approve 1% Salary Increases for All Employees” »

Update From DUSD Superintendent Aaron Rosander

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Businesses and organizations are dynamic places that experience seasons of change. Denair Unified School District is no exception. Below are some the confirmed key changes occurring across our District.

Denair High School

Administration: We have recently learned that Principal Alecia Myers will be leaving our District and will not return to DHS this year. We thank Ms. Myers for her service and wish her well.

Interim Principal Joe Galindo will continue to fill in at the high school, teaming up with our talented faculty and staff to ensure that the school year ends smoothly and successfully.

Principal interviews will be held Monday, May 9th.

Teachers: We are currently recruiting for three teacher positions at DHS in the areas of Science, English and Mathematics.

Leaving DHS at the end of this school year are Breanna Vaughn (science) and Carrie Coldicutt (English). We thank both individuals for their terrific service and wish them well in their future endeavors. The talented Cristina Rojas (mathematics) will transfer to Denair Charter Academy next year where she will work full time.

Sandra Cisneros will move from DECA to DHS to teach Spanish. Ms. Cisneros will fill the vacancy of Maria Olivas who next year will serve as DUSD’s full-time Coordinator of English Language Development/English Learner Instructional Coach

Teacher recruitment and interviews are currently in progress.

Continue reading “Update From DUSD Superintendent Aaron Rosander” »

Denair Schools Welcome Community with Open Houses

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The Denair Unified School District will open its doors to parents and its community Thursday night with open houses at all its campuses as well as academic demonstrations and awards presentations. Here is the schedule for each school site:

 

Denair High School

6:00 p.m. – Classrooms will be open for all parents to meet and talk with teachers and observe various projects.

7:00 p.m. (at Coyote Center at Denair Middle School) – Annual awards presentation. More than 150 of the 270 students on campus will be honored. Honor roll awards based on grade-point average will be announced, students receiving scholarships will be recognized and those with perfect attendance will be celebrated.

 

Denair Middle School

5:30 p.m. – Teachers in all classrooms will welcome parents and others.

 

Denair Elementary Charter Academy

5:00 p.m. – Science Fair in the elementary gymnasium.

5:00-7:30 p.m. – Art show featuring student creations in the cafeteria.

6:30-7:30 p.m. – Open house in all classrooms.

 

Denair Charter Academy

6:00 p.m. – Classrooms 39 to 45 will be open with student displays and science experiments. Python Ron will be on hand with various reptiles for an interactive experience. A baby boutique also will be open with donated clothing for students who are parents.

Spanish Club Is Natural Extension of DECA’s Language Program

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DECA Spanish Club

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Spanish instructor Donna Williams has been one of the most popular, energetic and inspirational teachers on the Denair Elementary Charter Academy campus for many years. Her enthusiasm for her students – and her subject matter – bubbles through every lesson in each class.

So it should come as no surprise that when Williams returned from Christmas break this year with the idea to begin a Spanish-language service club, her students embraced it with the same excitement Williams brings to her work. That is to say, they loved it.

The Sociedad Hispanica de Amistad, known by the acronym “SHA,” is national group affiliated with the American Association of the Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Williams attended a national conference for foreign language teachers in December. AATSP leaders were impressed to learn of DECA’s commitment to teaching Spanish to every student and offered her a membership on the spot. She, in turn, was delighted to hear about SHA.

In Williams’ mind, it was a perfect fit. DECA’s chapter was formed in January and already has 50 members in third through fifth grades. It is called Los Manos de Esperanza (“Hands of Hope”) and is the first in the Central Valley.

“I had wanted to start a service club using our Spanish as a mode to promote languages, as well as serve our community and school, and the SHA offered exactly what we were looking for,” Williams explained.

Students attend weekly meetings during their lunch period, where they plan and participate in language-based activities. Already, the club hosted a Spanish teacher from nearby Stanislaus State University for a meet and greet. In March, they organized a clean-up project on the DECA campus, counting and singing in Spanish while moving from classroom to classroom for 25 minutes. Continue reading “Spanish Club Is Natural Extension of DECA’s Language Program” »