Meet the New Chief Colt at Crawford HS – Matt Marquez!

The interim tag is gone – Matt Marquez is officially the new football coach at Crawford High School.

Coach Marquez joined Paul Rudy to talk about his new title and the path he took to get back to Crawford.

Click here...https://www.kusi.com/meet-the-new-chief-colt-at-crawford-matt-marquez/

Students Participate in the Board Grading Workshop

Student Equity Ambassadors and the President of the Council of ASB Presidents joined the San Diego Unified Board Members and District Leadership Staff to discuss grading and assessments. The students served on a panel, analyzed data and reviewed supporting research. It was an evening filled with valuable input and great discussion.

Hoover and Madison High School ASB Presidents Serve as Honorary SDUSD Student Board Representatives

Micaela Chopineau, the ASB President of Hoover High School, and Nolan Huckabone, the ASB President of Madison High School, recently served as San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Student Board Representatives. The students joined the Board Members on the dais and provided reports about what has been happening at their schools both socially and academically.

Build-Up Point Loma Nazarene University Visit

On Friday, January 25th, a group of students in the Build-Up Program at Serra High School embarked on a higher education exploration to Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU). Students took part in an engaging guided tour on the beautiful seaside campus lead by current PLNU student ambassadors. The tour was followed by an informative admissions presentation from the university outreach representative and a panel of current college students sharing their first hand experience at the university. Build-Up participants all thoroughly enjoyed this experience as an opportunity to recharge after their finals week.

“Build Up” is a program aim to increase post-secondary preparedness and readiness for our military dependents at Serra High School. It is a partnership between the Office of Children and Youth in Transition (CYT) at San Diego Unified School District and the TRIO Upward Bound program at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) funded by a grant through the Department of Defense.

Expanding Horizons at PoPPCon 2019

San Diego Unified School District as well as The Office of School Innovation and Integrated Youth Services would like to thank our community for their support of the Power of Pathways and Partnerships Convention organized by SDUSD January 16-18, 2019. ConnectEd California and the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment & Teaching Excellence (CREATE) at UC San Diego worked hand in hand to plan an unconventional experience that pushed educators to challenge norms, and to envision a future where each student is provided the supports and experiences needed to discover and pursue their unique passions. Toward this end participants selected one of six deep dives that provided a focused, three day experience exploring a particular problem of practice: Laying the Foundation for High-Quality Pathways; Building Structures for Sustainable Success; Expanding Horizons: Interest-Driven Industry Involved Excursions; Rigorous and Relevant Project-Based Learning; and The Big Game: Designing for Peak Moments

In this post, we would like to thank the partners that made the Expanding Horizons deep dive possible. This experience was developed to support other districts interested in designing work based learning experiences with organizations in their local context.


SeaWorld San Diego, a long-time partner of San Diego Unified welcomed participants with open arms and hosted the opening of PoPPCon 2019. SeaWorld went above and beyond providing not only a venue, but also park admission for each attendee. Expanding Horizons participants were then treated to a behind the scenes look at SeaWorld Rescue, which serves as the inspiration for the Ocean Link Lab experience that was explored the next day. The Ocean Link Lab was co-developed by San Diego Unified and SeaWorld Education to look at ways human actions are impacting ocean ecosystems.

Attendees were then provided a glimpse of San Diego Unified’s Elementary STEAM effort being piloted at 32 sites. Sunset View principal Jamey Jaramillo shared her experience rolling out the STEAM program at her school and opened classrooms where students were busy collaborating and exploring the interactions between organisms and their environment. A unit informed by our partners at SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, and Project Wildlife.

We then transitioned to BioLabs San Diego where our friends at LaunchBio detailed how Community Block Grant funds are being used to illuminate the world of entrepreneurialism in biotech. Presentations from Ed Hidalgo, Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab and World of Work Founder, Dr. Edward Abeyta Associate Dean UCSD Extension, and Thrively, rounded out a day that highlighted learning and discovery across a lifespan, or as Ed and Ed like to say, K-gray.

Expanding Horizons culminated Friday aboard the USS Midway where educators experienced what the Classroom of the Future Foundation is doing for students in the realm of Cyber Security as well as how Raytheon engineers donate free time to open up the world of automation, robotics, and engineering in their STEM Innovation Lab. The Midway also provided a powerful example of how a school/district might enter into a win-win partnership with local museums to bring history to life while providing standards aligned work based learning experiences that support 21st century skill development. The Shipboard Engineering and Damage Control Excursion is just one of many educational programs offered by the USS Midway, what makes it unique is that it was developed in partnership with SDUSD teachers Melissa Maggio, Philip Prado, and Cora Trojanowski. Their contribution to PoPPCon emphasized what a tremendous resource our teachers are when developing programs with partners.


This conference, nor the unique experiences only available here in San Diego Unified would not be possible without our tremendous partners. We would like to thank the entire San Diego community who come together time and time again in service of our students. It was our pleasure to show off all of your efforts and we look forward to working with you to deliver another one of a kind learning excursion next year, PoPPCon 2020 :)

Horton Elementary is Standing Up to Hate

Every classroom, every student, every teacher (Pre K-5) and every parent participating in Family Friday picture walked or read together the book, “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. Discussion questions such as “What does it mean to be part of a brotherhood? What does it mean to be an ally? How are these words similar?” were asked as students explored the value of inclusion. The reflection turned inward as students discuss what their dreams are alongside their parents and teachers. Everyone wrote what their dreams on a heart template that are now displayed around the school. This student-led activity is part of Horton’s No Place for Hate school-wide campaign.

Human Trafficking and Internet Safety Community Event

Join us on February 21st at Bell Middle School from 5:00-7:00 PM for this opportunity to learn from professional organizations specializing in human trafficking and internet safety. Learn strategies to: recognize trafficking risk factors, increase public awareness about human trafficking, understand your role as an advocate to support our youth, and develop internet safety skills to keep youth safe from risks like cyberbullying & online predators. For more information or questions, please contact Ebonee Weathers at eweathers@sandi.net or Steffanie Zambrano at szambrano@sandi.net

San Diego High School kicks off the new year with the training of over 100 staff in Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices!

Principal Francisca del Carmen-Aguilar invited the entire staff at San Diego High School to participate in an introduction to “Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices” training. Participants held discussions around culture and bias and are excited to bring this work into every classroom! Contact Ebonee Weathers at eweathers@sandi.net to schedule a training for your school site, or register directly at https://goo.gl/forms/DQWPvxntbqNzbQs52

Trauma Informed School Site PD at Wegeforth Elementary

On Wednesday, January 24th the Children and Youth in Transition Team (CYT) presented a trauma informed practices presentation to the Wegeforth Elementary school staff. The professional development training “The Trauma Informed School Site” is one of a series of four presentations that the CYT department offers. The presentation focuses on teaching trauma informed strategies to school staff to support student resiliency. Approximately twenty school sites in San Diego Unified School District have participated in the professional development series in the 18-19 school year thus far. Interested schools should contact the CYT department to sign up for trainings. Educators and staff can also sign up for trauma informed care trainings as individuals through the ERO staff professional development portal. The remaining trauma informed practices presentations include: “Trauma and the Brain,” “Self-Care for the Educator” and “Mindup Curriculum Implementation.” The professional development trainings are available throughout the 18-19 school year.

In Defense of Learning

During PoPPCon 2019, participants had an opportunity to sit in on the Kearny Digital Media and Design Defenses of Learning. What they saw helped to reinforce the importance of reflection in the learning process. Throughout the fall semester, DMD seniors worked with a client, designed and created a media product, and wrote a defense reflection paper in which they make a claim for how they have practiced the Expected Schoolwide Learning Results ((ESLRs) - Critical Thinking, Innovative Thinking, Civic Engagement, the Production Process, all leading to College and Career Readiness)) in their academic and daily experiences. In the Defense, they show connections between the ESLRs and how they have seen growth in these areas through the project learning outcomes. PoPPCon 2019 participants got to see just how valuable this Defense can be as students reflect on the impact of connecting their learning to real-world skills and habits of mind.

Role-reversal: Teachers Present to Students at PoPPCon

Teachers from around the country gathered at Clairemont High School during PoPPCon 2019, stepping into the role of students! Teachers created a project idea and pitched it to the Chieftans. Then it was the students’ chance to give feedback to teachers...and some honest feedback was given! When one teacher proposed an idea to research a local ‘mom and pop’ store in order to understand passion and entrepreneurship, students suggested that in-person research would be much more motivating than researching online. Several students questioned teachers about the importance and relevance of their project ideas. A few seniors were very excited about projects that involved younger students at elementary and middle schools. Teachers often say that everyone should be a lifelong learner and teachers put this into practice as they listened to feedback and suggestions from our own San Diego Unified students. Both the teachers and students said this should become a regular practice in our schools. Teachers were a little nervous before presenting but said that it was such an important way to understand how students feel in the same situation. Kudos to all involved!

It’s Academic League Season!

Every Thursday evening from January 24 to March 21, Novice, Junior Varsity, and Varsity Academic League teams will test their knowledge in history, geography, science, literature, math and random facts. Sixteen SDUSD schools are competing this season against each other and with private schools: Mira Mesa, Serra, La Jolla, Scripps Ranch, Clairemont, Pt. Loma, Madison, Mission Bay, Mt. Everest, Patrick Henry, San Diego, SCPA,Morse, University City, Kearny, and Hoover high schools. Best of luck to all teams in the competition!

From Sugar to Heroin: Educating the Community about Substance Use

Tenth grade students in Clairemont High School’s Health and Medical Pathway are educating their peers, students at other schools, and community members at large on substance abuse through their project “From Sugar to Heroin: Substance Use in Our Community”. In this project, students address the problem of substance abuse by partnering with SAY San Diego to research legal and illicit substances for the purpose of informing the community about abuse prevention.

Throughout the semester these students have worked in teams to learn about a specific substance that is abused. They’ve done research, written papers, and are finally getting a chance to present to the community the social, economic, and cultural impact of these substances.

At PoPPCon 2019, in preparation for their Town Hall meeting with their Community Partner, SAY San Diego, students shared their learning with educators from all over the United States. What did the students have to say? One group of students cautioned that Fentanyl is one of the deadliest drugs around and it has been showing up mixed with other drugs. Another group highlighted deaths of celebrities that have been caused by the depressive effects of Xanax on the nervous system. One student said that this project has allowed her to educate her friends and prevent them from making choices that could severely impact their health and well-being. In hearing students passionately speak about substance abuse, it was evident that they are especially invested in their learning because of the opportunity to have an impact beyond their classroom.

The Board of Education Acknowledges and Recognizes Outstanding Fall 2018 Athletic Teams

At the Tuesday, January 22, 2019 Board of Education meeting, the Board acknowledged and recognized the district's outstanding fall 2018 athletic teams, the coaches, athletic directors, administrators, parents and community supporters. The following teams/schools were recognized:
1) Lincoln High School Football: CIF San Diego Champion-D3, CIF Southern CA Regional Champion, CIF State Finalist

2) Mira Mesa High School Cheerleading: CIF San Diego Champion- Division 1 Small Schools

3) Morse High School Football: CIF San Diego Champion-D2, CIF Southern CA Regional Finalist

4) Patrick Henry High School Girls Tennis: CIF San Diego Champion-D2












5) San Diego High School Football: CIF San Diego Champion- D4, CIF Southern CA Regional Champion, CIF State Champion

6) Scripps Ranch High School Field Hockey: CIF San Diego Champion- Open Division

La Jolla High School Coach Named Tennis Pro of the Year

Darice Carnaje, the La Jolla High School varsity boys and girls tennis coach, was named 2018 Female Tennis Pro of the year by the San Diego Tennis Association. 

For more information, click here...https://ljvikings.com/2019/01/22/carnaje-named-tennis-pro-of-the-year/

Patrick Henry High School Wrestling Wins Southwest Raiders Invitational

For more information, click here...https://phpatriots.net/2019/01/22/wrestling-wins-southwest-raiders-invitational/

SDUSD Employees Win Big in the National HealthyWage Weight Loss Challenge

This Fall more than 180 San Diego Unified employees competed against school districts across the nation to lose weight and focus on healthy habits. Staff competed, in teams of 5, to lose the highest percentage of weight over 12 weeks, with the chance to win cash prizes. In total, our SDUSD employees lost a total of 1,186lbs, with an average of 6.3lbs weight loss per person!

Winners were announced December 21, 2018. A special congratulations to our district’s winning team, The Mini Mesas (Arthur Spurlock, Daniel Kriley, Jeff Sabins, Ronnie Lardizabal and Paul Morgan) who earned the top spot with a combined weight loss of 12.02% … and won $1,500! The challenge isn’t over yet: all HealthyWage participants can keep working to win back their registration fee with an individual weight loss of 10% within 9 months of the challenge start date.

This challenge was coordinated by the District’s Employee Wellness Sub-Committee, in partnership with California Schools VEBA and HealthyWage, as part of the district’s efforts to support the health and well-being of our staff. To learn more about our District Wellness Initiative, please visit https://www.sandiegounified.org/health-and-wellness or contact Kate McDevitt, District Wellness Supervisor at wellness@sandi.net.

Reminder to Please Join Us for the Next 2018-19 Student Equity Coalition

As previously advertised in this newsletter, students, parents, staff and community members are invited to join our students at this year's Student Equity Coalitions. Please join us for the third Coalition on Wednesday, February 6th at Morse High School from 5:00-6:30pm. We hope to see you there!

For more information, please contact Stacey Seiders at sseiders@sandi.net or 619-725-7125.

High School Instrumental Musicians Take the Stage

The best San Diego Unified high school student musicians will perform on a larger stage as part of the 2019 SDUSD Honor Band and Honor Orchestra. The annual High School Instrumental Music Honor Concert will take place at 7pm on Saturday night, February 2nd, at the state-of-the-art Copley Symphony Hall. Onstage will be 77 students in the Honor Band and 91 students in the Honor Orchestra representing 13 high schools: Crawford, Hoover, La Jolla, Mira Mesa, Mission Bay, Morse, Patrick Henry, Point Loma, San Diego, School of the Creative and Performing Arts, Scripps Ranch, Serra, and University City.

Guest conductor for the Honor Orchestra will be Anthony Do-Hoon Kim, a prominent conductor with the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory. The orchestra will be performing advanced musical works by Holst, Dvorak, and Ginastera. The band portion of the concert will be conducted by Dean Hickman, a recently retired San Diego Unified School District music teacher. Having served 33 years teaching in San Diego Unified, Hickman continues to inspire our students and teachers in the field of music.

The SDUSD High School Instrumental Music Honor Concert is produced by the VAPA Department in partnership with the VAPA Foundation, a not-for-profit organization supporting quality arts education for all students in SDUSD, and the Community Council for Music in the Schools (CCMS), an non-profit organization that provides musical instruments for students, many of whom will be performing in the concert.

The public is invited to attend this free performance of the district’s finest musicians, a culmination of several weeks of rehearsal. The concert promises to be an exciting musical exhibition of compelling musical repertoire.

SDUSD High School Instrumental Honor Concert 

Copley Symphony Hall 

750 B Street 

San Diego, CA 92101 

February 2, 2019 

7:00 pm

https://www.sandiegounified.org/vapanews/high-school-instrumental-musicians-take-stage

Education Is All About Building Bridges

The Kearny cluster TK – 12 schools, parent & community groups and the Linda Vista Town Council are sponsoring a free event for families in Linda Vista. Please join us on Saturday, January 26 from 9:00 am - 2:30 pm at Montgomery Middle STEAM Magnet for the first annual Bridges To Our Future Conference.

The goal of the event is to empower students and their families by building strong connections between schools and the communities they serve. The Bridges To Our Future Conference will include family workshops on child advocacy, special education, English Language Learners and the work being done around STEAM in Linda Vista schools. In addition, there will be activities for the whole family and exhibitions of student work. A highlight of the conference will be panel discussions conducted in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Breakfast, lunch, and childcare will be provided, as well as Spanish and Vietnamese interpretation. All families are welcome and we hope to see you there!


Register here 

Montgomery Middle STEAM Magnet 

2470 Ulric Street 

San Diego, CA 92111

Students Serve as Ambassadors at the 2019 PoPPCon Conference

Students from Madison, Mira Mesa, San Diego, Scripps Ranch, SDSCPA and University City high schools proudly supported the district's PoPPCon conference on its first day at SeaWorld. They served as ambassadors that greeted and welcomed conference participants from across the nation and participated in a disruptive experience modeling how important it is to always have the student voice at the table.

Student Equity Ambassadors Attend a Training at Mt. Everest Academy

Student Equity Ambassadors recently attended a student equity training put on by their fellow ambassador Sabrina Lee who is in her third year of the program. Sabrina led the students through exercises to practice their communication, conversation and public speaking skills as well as trained them on how to develop an effective action plan. The students are excited to put their training into action at the next Coalition on Wednesday, February 6, 2019 from 5-6:30pm at Morse HS.

Safe, Collaborative and Inclusive Practices at Taft Middle School

As part of strengthening the school wide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) implementation at Taft Middle School, teachers, administrators, and support staff participated in a professional learning around ensuring a safe, collaborative and inclusive culture for all. They learned about the district's vision of an integrated support system that includes academics, behavior and social emotional learning. Discussion was led around what would be the ideal state of a classroom or school that is safe, collaborative and inclusive, to support the whole child as well as the staff that work there. From this discussion, the dialogue began around the current PBIS system that is already in place and it's alignment with a safe collaborative and inclusive culture. Next steps for the team will be to strengthen practices already in place to ensure that each and every child is supported with both academics and agency.

San Diego Unified Police Department Awards Civilian of the Year

Katherine Aud was awarded the 2018 Civilian of the Year from the San Diego Unified School District Police Department. Over the past several years, Katherine has become an essential partner for School Police. Beginning with our True Blue Buddy Program, Katherine's exceptional leadership ability, organizational skills, and financial management experience all helped to create an exceptional youth mentorship program. Most important, Katherine was key in our fundraising efforts and business sponsorships. Without Katherine, True Blue Buddies would have never materialized to bring joy and support to so many children in need. Katherine has truly become a "go-to" asset for School Police. She has endless skills; from assisting with grant proposals, to lengthy presentations Katherine takes any idea from concept to success. No document could ever capture the true value of Katherine's "Child First" approach. However, we shall remain forever humbled to work with a lady of such intellect, ability, and commitment.

DePortola "Dream Big" Career Fair

DePortola middle school students were excited to learn from passionate professionals from a range of careers. Detective Michael Murphy, from the El Cajon Police Department, kept students completely engaged with exciting stories on the job. The most popular attendee was Raico, Detective Murphy's K-9 companion. Future professionals (students) saw hands-on demonstrations from a dentist, salon owner, an anthropologist, and many more. Huge shout out to the counselors who led this opportunity to bridge student's classroom learning with the real world.