Tag Archives: Denair Unified School District

Denair Unified Trustees Approve 2.37% Bonuses for Teachers

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The road to financial recovery took a satisfying turn at Thursday night’s special meeting of the Denair Unified School District board. Trustees approved a 2.37% bonus for all teachers who were on staff in 2015-16, the first step toward restoring painful salary cuts enacted three years ago.

The one-time payment matches bonuses given to classified staff earlier this year.

Thursday’s unanimous decision affects the 65 teachers and school counselors who worked in the district last year – including those who retired or took jobs in other districts this year. The bonuses will be distributed this month and will cost the district $110,861 – money board members and Superintendent Aaron Rosander were delighted to share.

“We owe a big debt of gratitude to all our employees,” Rosander said. “They’ve all been working hard to reposition and recast our district in our community. And it’s working. Now we’re gaining more people because our programs are powerful. And I think the best is yet to come. You can see that we’ve turned the corner.”

When Rosander arrived in February 2014, the district and its employees were reeling from a one-two financial punch of declining enrollment and reduced state funding. Salaries for classified staff were slashed 12%; pay for teachers and administrators was cut 8%. Some employees were laid off.

Enrollment, which peaked at about 1,600 students in 2008, had been steadily eroding and bottomed out at 1,294 children in 2014-15.

“Declining enrollment will bring you to your knees. It will choke you,” Rosander said Thursday night. “The budget gets tighter and tighter. That was the piece that was really vexing to our district.”

Rosander and Chief Business Officer Linda Covello initiated a financial recovery program that maximized the use of so-called “restricted” funds to pay for people, programs and equipment while reducing the burden on the general fund. The district’s food program was revamped, turning a $100,000 drain on the budget into a money-maker. Rosander said “powerful interventions” lowered how many students were assigned to special education programs that are required by the state but not fully funded. Continue reading “Denair Unified Trustees Approve 2.37% Bonuses for Teachers” »

Bottom Line in Denair: More Students Than Expected Will Lead to Pay Raises for Staff

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The shared satisfaction associated with growing enrollment in the Denair Unified School District this year led to a frank discussion between teachers and trustees at Thursday night’s board meeting: When will the extra money tied to more students lead to more pay for staff?

Board members and administrators were adamant that teachers and classified staff who took pay cuts of 8% or more in 2013 as the district faced financial crisis are in line for unspecified raises. But the leaders also cautioned that it will be at least until October – when 2016-17 enrollment is locked in by the state – before they can begin to analyze how much they can afford to add to paychecks and when.

The district has 1,306 students on its four campuses, well above the 1,243 anticipated in this year’s budget. Under the state’s funding formula, each student is worth about $8,000 in average daily attendance (ADA), the primary funding mechanism for public schools.

Knowing that, about a dozen teachers attended Thursday’s meeting to lobby for salary restoration. Their request led to assurances from Superintendent Aaron Rosander and Board President Sandi Dirkse that more money will be shared with all employees.

“The plan is to restore. As the enrollment grows and ADA increases, my recommendation to the board will be to restore salaries,” Rosander said.

Dirkse was passionate in her acknowledgment of the financial sacrifices made by staff, saying: “It is absolutely our desire to see salaries restored. We understand that the district is nothing without our teachers. It’s absolutely our priority. As soon as we see that ongoing money, it’s yours. When we have the money, we want you to have it. We want to see that everyone across all salary schedules is restored.” Continue reading “Bottom Line in Denair: More Students Than Expected Will Lead to Pay Raises for Staff” »

Test Results Released for Denair and All Districts in California

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Like their peers in Stanislaus County and across California, Denair Unified students did better in English than on math in new state test results released this week.

The computer-adapted tests were given to nearly 3.2 million students in grades 3 through 8 and 11. The questions are based on students’ right and wrong answers to help determine their knowledge in a given subject. There also are essay questions and problem-solving tasks.

Educators agree that the new tests are more difficult than the multiple-choice versions they replaced, which were last taken by students in 2013.

In Denair, 681 students took the tests in the last school year. In English, 32% of all students met or exceeded the state standards, with the best scores at the middle school level. That compares to 33% in the practice tests taken one year earlier.

In Stanislaus County, 41% of students met or exceeded English standards. Across the state, 49% were judged to be at or above grade level.

In math, 17% of DUSD students met or exceeded state standards, with the best scores at the elementary levels. That compares to 20% in 2015.

In the county, 25% met or exceeded state math standards compared to 37% across the entire state.

“State testing automatically invokes comparison and compels improvement, not at all a bad thing,” said Denair Superintendent Aaron Rosander. “However, we must be careful not to rush to assumptions on why scores are comparatively low or high. The idea is to use the test for self-reflection and prudent analysis. With thoughtful adjustments to student use of the new technology format and to curriculum, test scores will quickly take care of themselves.”

Parents will receive individual student scores in the mail. For those who want to see complete district results or seek to a comparison with other schools or districts, all results can be viewed at http://caaspp.cde.ca.gov.

In addition, parents can access other test-tracking resources from the California Department of Education at http://testscoreguide.org.

The California State PTA also offers testing information and analysis at www.capta.org.

School Begins Thursday, August 11, at all Denair Campuses

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

School resumes Thursday, Aug. 11 in the Denair Unified School District with more than 1,200 students expected for classes across four campuses. School begins at 8 a.m. Class is over at 2:20 p.m. for transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students, 2:40 p.m. for children in grades 1 to 5, and 2:45 p.m. for all other students.

Four new principals will be in place in the district – Kara Backman at Denair High School, Kelly Beard at Denair Middle School, Lucy Zamora at Denair Elementary Charter Academy and Brian LaFountain at Denair Charter Academy.

Parents are invited to read the district’s handbook, then sign and return the acknowledgement form to the office at their child’s campus. The handbook contains district policies and outlines the rights and responsibilities of parents.

All community members are reminded to be especially cautious of children walking or riding their bicycles to and from campus beginning this week. Parents driving their children to school are advised to give themselves plenty of time because traffic is predictably heavy before and after school.

Parents with questions about busing should call 632-7514, ext. 1230 or 1218.

Breakfast and lunch are served at all school food service sites between 7:30 and 7:55 a.m. Parents with questions should call 632-9920, ext. 1243.

New Ag, Drama, Math and English Courses Unveiled for DHS Students

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Denair High School School students interested in ag or drama will have new electives from which to choose in the upcoming school year, Denair Unified School District trustees decided Thursday night. Adjustments also were made to math and English curriculum, and a second piece put in place for a criminal justice pathway for students interested in law enforcement as a career.

Board members heard an overview of the new courses from Cherie Gresham, the counselor at the high school. Among the highlights:

  • A beefed up menu of ag electives, all intended to quality for college-level credit for students who want to attend Modesto Junior College after graduation. A new welding class will follow two courses in ag mechanics, with hopes of adding an advanced welding class in the near future. A floral design II class to introduce higher-level concepts, Gresham said. An introduction to animal science course. And, finally, an elective on agricultural leadership and skills, which excited Trustee Ray Prock Jr. “I could see it developing into a marketing or ag communications class. I don’t think there’s any other high school around here that offers that,” he said.
  • An elective in drama. “We had a ton of interest in it,” Gresham explained. “We had a bunch of kids already in the Drama Club.”
  • In mathematics, accommodations were made for students who have struggled with algebra. Gresham said for incoming freshmen identified as needing additional attention, algebra will be split into integrated math 1A and integrated math 1B – each a yearlong course that allows them to learn “at a slow pace.” Because the combined classes will count only as one year toward the three years of math needed to graduate, these students also will have to take math classes through their senior years. In addition, a course called integrated math II will replace geometry. It includes elements of geometry, probability and proportional reasoning, quadratic functions and solving equations.
  • In English, a pre-AP course was added specifically for sophomores to better prepare them for the Advanced Placement class they can take as juniors or seniors. “With the pre-AP, we’re giving them a taste of what’s expected and they’ll know whether they’re ready to jump into it,” Gresham explained. “We found this year that some of our students weren’t as prepared as they needed to be for the rigorous coursework.”
  • Trustees were excited to learn about plans to expand the criminal justice choices to as many as four classes, creating what is known as a “pathway.” An introductory course was unveiled in 2015-16 for sophomores, juniors and seniors to consider as an elective. This year, a class in patrol procedures will be added for students at all grade levels. Two additional classes – intro to criminal justice and administration of justice – are envisioned in future years.

Continue reading “New Ag, Drama, Math and English Courses Unveiled for DHS Students” »