The San Diego Education Fund

A big thank you to the San Diego Education Fund and all they do to support or current and future teachers! Click here to learn more about this amazing organization.

Justina Estrada graduated from Scripps Ranch High School in 1997. At the time, her high school counselor, Jane Morrill, recommended that she apply for a San Diego Education Fund (SDEF) scholarship to help her reach her academic goals of becoming a teacher and a counselor. As a first generation college student with no financial support from home, this scholarship allowed her the opportunity to focus on her studies. She was able to graduate with her BA degree and teaching credential from CSUSM, and in 2013 she received a Master’s Degree in Educational Counseling with a PPS credential. She is now a high school counselor at Scripps Ranch High School, her alma mater, alongside her mentor and fellow counselor, Jane Morrill.

Christina Conley was admitted to the SDEF scholars program her senior year of high school. She had heard about it from her teacher at Patrick Henry, as her teacher encouraged future teachers to apply. Christina's college experience is due in large part to this scholarship and the counseling that she received in this program. With the help of this scholarship she received an Education Specialist Credential for Mild/Moderate disabilities and a Master's degree in Education from San Diego State University. She is now an Education Specialist at Rosa Parks Elementary School.

According to the study by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, a teacher shortage crisis is looming due to the decreasing number of Californians seeking to become teachers and an aging teacher population nearing retirement. We also know that student achievement is markedly improved when teachers have similar backgrounds with their students.

SDEF believes that education provides the basis for individual opportunity and economic vitality. To bring that mission to life, SDEF provides scholarships, mentoring and counseling to first generation, ethnically diverse college students to become teachers, scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians in San Diego. These scholarship awards are renewable annually based on satisfactory academic progress towards an undergraduate degree. 

Applications for a STEM scholarship and a Future Teacher scholarship are open now, and will remain open through February 28, 2020. Please visit SDEF's Website for more information and to apply.

The Art of Blue Technology

San Diego’s Blue Tech Week is here and Montgomery’s Monty Wolves are part of the celebration. BlueTech Week is all about the companies and the people driving the sustainable Blue Economy. It's the annual event where hundreds of senior international participants gather in San Diego to highlight collaboration and innovation in sustainable ocean and water technologies and the entrepreneurs making it happen. 

The Maritime Alliance says San Diego has one of the largest clusters of technology firms specializing in ocean/hydro applications in the country, thanks to the large U.S. Navy presence in the region and research centers such at UC-San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 

A highlight of the weeklong event will be the Blue Tech Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony with keynote speaker, world-renown surf photographer and San Diego native, Aaron Chang. 

Montgomery Middle STEAM Magnet students have created artwork for the event that is based on the motif of a message in a bottle. Each image draws upon the theme of “I dream of a world…” and will focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to transform our world. The final pieces will be inserted in glass bottles and serve as the centerpieces of Blue Tech week’s Gala. Kearny High School students have designed the centerpieces. 

The 11th Annual Blue Tech Week runs from November 18th through the 22nd.

Learning Grows in School Gardens

Literature comes alive in Carson STEAM Magnet’s garden as students learn about the nutritional benefits of different parts of plants that we can eat. Mrs. Prince, our resident Food Corps Service Member, reads I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child, and asks students to make connections between the food growing in the garden, the food in our cafeteria, and the food on their dinner plates. Students think about the parts of the plants they choose at lunch in the salad bar and ask, “Am I eating… a root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, or seed?”

Meanwhile up the road at Linda Vista STEAM Magnet School, third grade students learn about plant parts and participate in preparing healthy snacks in the garden with our FoodCorps volunteer Julie Prince. 

Across campus, fourth graders continue their STEAM unit on Erosion and Weathering by exploring the question: How does understanding how land is made and how it has changes over time help us prepare for our future? As part of their unit, they employ the processes scientists use to analyze phenomena and examine samples of different soils around campus to explore their properties and how they tie into erosion problems here at school.

Kearny BST Students Finish Rady’s Rotations!

Recently 25 seniors completed their hospital rotations at Rady’s Children’s Hospital. These students experienced 2 separate rotations in a different department at Rady’s. Students shadowed a doctor or nurse in departments such as: Radiology, NICU, Cardiology, Integrative Medicine, and Social Services.

Students feel they gained a deeper understanding of the day to day experiences of the professionals that they worked with. One student said, “I found this internship with Rady Children’s Hospital very beneficial. This allowed me the opportunity to see what a physician does on an average day. I also had the ability to solidify the career path in which I wish to follow, which is the medical field. Overall, I really appreciate the work that physicians do and I can not wait to someday become one.” 

The current 11th grade students are now starting to go out on their “community rotations" where they will perform community service in the healthcare field in an effort to get prepared for their hospital rotations next year. Thank you to the amazing staff at Rady’s Children’s hospital for making this possible for the students! 

PBMS Welcoming their Sixth Graders

Pacific Beach Middle School has a very special way to welcome their sixth graders! Seventh and eighth grader students write them a letter telling them what to expect, and reminding them not to be anxious or apprehensive about middle school. Hundreds of letters to the new 6th graders decorate the walls on one side of the hallway, and on the other side are posters from the sixth graders depicting their high level emotions coming into middle school. The letters told the students not to worry about too much work, that the cafeteria food was good, and that the teachers were pretty cool. On the other hand, the posters showed the mixed feelings of the new 6th graders such as: "Am I in the right class," "Will my teacher be nice," and "Are all the students looking at me?"

The validation of what the students are feeling is the first step in empowering them to move forward, and the letters from the upperclassmen motivate them as they enter the new middle school world. As a visitor to the school, you get a feeling of acceptance and welcome; the exact feelings you would want as you enter a new and unfamiliar place.

Discover Your Drive

San Diego Miramar College hosted high school students from San Diego Unified School District CCTE Automotive programs to take part in the second annual Discover Your Drive event. Approximately 150 students participated in hands-on demonstrations in the Aviation, Automotive and Diesel Technology labs for the day. This unique opportunity allows high school students to test drive college for the day, and experience a day and a life of a college student. 

Students rotated through three college workshops taught by college professors and received information on pursuing and obtaining a college degree in one of the many opportunities Miramar College offers. Student will have the opportunity to return to campus in the spring of 2020 for the national signing day which is designed to help students make a seamless transition to a post-secondary education. 

More information and a short video highlighting the event can be found here.

King Tide Experience

The League of Extraordinary Scientists and Engineers (LXS) have partnered with the J.Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) to bring students from Encanto ES, Jefferson ES, Johnson ES, Washington ES, and Webster ES to visit the La Jolla Tide pools between November 2019 and February 2020.

The King Tide Experience will allow students to explore tide pools alongside oceanographers, microbiologists, and other scientists. The participants learn about king tides, tidal zones, and view macrofauna that are present in the pools.

The 4th and 5th graders also have a chance to look for sharks, Bat Rays, Seals, and other species from the SIO pier! The Scientists demonstrate how to perform a plankton tow and discuss how and why we collect organisms.

Students are able to examine Ocean organisms in the J.Craig Venter Mobile lab under high powered microscopes. The microscopes allow students to visualize what a plankton tow looks like and any water that is collected in the tide pools.

Thank you to our partners at LXS, JCVI, and OIS for inviting our students to participate!

Women in BioTech

On Wednesday November 13th, 275 students from our high schools participated in the Women in BioTech event at the Salk Institute. San Diego Unified was represented by Hoover, Clairemont, Crawford, Mira Mesa, Kearny, San Diego, Serra, and University High School.

Women in BioTech was the first STEAM Leadership Series event of the 2019-2020 school year and was sponsored by the San Diego Foundation. The participants were inspired by Dr. Karen Nelson who shared her journey from growing up in Jamaica and becoming the President of the J. Craig Venter Institute.

A panel of diverse female speakers shared their experiences and reflected on the turning points in their careers as they pursued their passions to achieve success.

The students in the audience asked the panel for advice they would give their younger selves, barriers they overcame, and how they dealt with rejection.

The participants walked away truly inspired and with confidence to re-imagine what might be possible in the years ahead!

Click here to read the article covering the event from the Union Tribune.

Strengths at Work

On November 7th, the seniors at Kearny Digital Media and Design embarked on some self exploration to prepare themselves for the next stage of their college and career journeys. Candice Fee, Program Manager for the Office of School Innovation, led students through taking the Clifton Strengths Finder Assessment in order to help students discover their areas of greatest strength and how they can put those strengths to work to develop successful futures. The assessment asks a series of questions that reveal the way students naturally think, feel, and behave. Each student gets a personalized report of their top five strengths. Dailyly Castillo, a senior at Kearny DMD, said what she most enjoyed about the Strengths Finder test was, “how much more you are able to learn and understand about yourself. When taking the test it described me using these 5 strengths which are belief, responsibility, restorative, adaptability, and ideation. I would have never chosen these words to describe myself, but after further reading and reflection, I could see how I use these skills and don’t even notice.” The assessment really helps students develop a clearer picture of who they are and put words to ideas the students’ are developing about themselves.

After discovering each student’s strengths, Ms. Fee led the students through a series of activities in which they experienced what it felt like to use their strengths to complete a task. Stephanie Clay, English teacher and Senior Internship Coordinator at Kearny DMD observed, “When students got into groups according to their strengths, it was interesting to see the students notice who among them shared their strengths and who had different strengths. Each group cooperated, communicated, and solved problems in its own way. It was really beneficial for students to be aware of themselves experiencing what it feels like to use that strength to complete a task. I witnessed a lot of ah-ha moments happening.” When the activities were complete, students had a better understanding of who they are and how their strengths can impact their future. “The activities helped prepare me for what's next in my life because whatever job I want to pursue in the future, I know that for me to learn and grow I have to do something that's more hands on rather than just listening and writing things down,” reflects Vincent Castillo, senior at Kearny DMD.


As seniors prepare for graduation, each student at DMD presents a Defense of Learning during which students defend their academic and personal growth through the lens of critical thinking, innovative thinking, the production process, civic engagement, and college and career readiness. Part of this growth includes being able to incorporate and reflect upon their unique strengths, how they use them, and, ultimately, which college and career choices will best suit them.

De Portola's Annual 8th Grade Career Day

DePortola 8th grade students in Tierrasanta had an exciting day on Wednesday, November 13. Community members showcased their current professions and the journey they took to their current careers that span from medicine, government relations, and archeology, to education, public service and more. Their experiences helped to illuminate the value of their educational experiences in middle and high school and the direct connection between specific content areas such as mathematics, English, science and history and thinking toward their futures. A special thanks to Ms. Hudson, School Counselor, and Rosa Aldana, Foundation Member, for planning and coordinating this annual collaboration between the Tierrasanta community and DePortola Middle School.

SWELL Education

 Project SWELL (Stewardship: Water Education for Lifelong Leadership) is an innovative education program that provides students with locally-oriented water science, and empowers them to take an active role in protecting their environment. The interactive lessons and hands-on activities included in Project SWELL are designed to put students at the center of inquiry and exploration.

Born out of a partnership between San Diego Coastkeeper, the City of San Diego, and San Diego Unified School District, Project SWELL has brought hands-on environmental science to thousands of K-6 grade students in San Diego since its inception in 2003. The curriculum is available at no cost to all K-6 teachers within San Diego Unified School District. Their education team supports teachers interested in using Project SWELL by providing them with professional development training and in-class support, including classroom guided lessons, hands-on science kits, and comprehensive lesson plans. The curriculum is aligned with Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Project SWELL works in tandem with their other educational programs, Water Education for All and Water and Climate Stewards, to reach more students across San Diego.

Ready to bring Project SWELL to your child’s classroom? Encourage your child’s teacher to schedule a guided lesson at https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/project-swell. If you have questions, reach out to projectswell@sdcoastkeeper.org.

Mira Mesa Selected for 2021 Tournament of Roses Parade

The Sapphire Sound band and color guard from Mira Mesa High School has been selected to perform in the 132nd Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California on January 1, 2021. The Tournament of Roses Parade selects the top high school, college, and military marching bands from all over the world to perform in the annual New Year’s Day parade. The parade is broadcast live on several TV networks. 

The acceptance of Mira Mesa into the 2021 Tournament of Roses Parade was announced at the end of the band’s regular marching rehearsal on October 17 by Dr. Robert Miller, Tournament of Roses President for 2021. Over the next year, the 220+ students in the MMHS Marching Band and Color Guard will train hard under Jeanne Christensen, Director of Bands at Mira Mesa since 1994. During their performance, the students will have to endure two hours of non-stop marching. They will march 5.5 miles in front of an estimated 1 million parade observers as well as nearly 100 million people on television. 

It is a huge honor to be selected to perform in the Tournament of Roses Parade, and this is the second time in five years that Mira Mesa High School will have appeared, as they performed in the Parade in 2016. At that time, they were the first band from San Diego Unified to march in the Rose Parade since Patrick Henry High School in 1983. 

The Mira Mesa High School band has a long history of top-notch performances, from the Opening Ceremonies for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia to recent concerts at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center (2017) and New York City’s Carnegie Hall (2019). Make sure to tune in to the Rose Parade next year on January 1 to see Mira Mesa representing San Diego Unified School District.

Technical Theatre Students Visit Mesa College

On October 29th, the Mesa College Theatre Department hosted three SDUSD Technical Theatre classes for the second annual Drama Day. Students from Mira Mesa High School, University High School, and San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts were treated to a back stage tour of the Mesa College Haunted Theatre Experience. The Haunted Theatre is an annual transformation of Mesa College’s aged Apolliad Theatre into a scary Halloween tour, featuring production effects and scares from actors in costumes and makeup. Following the tour, high school students received a behind-the-scenes perspective of the design and build process for the Haunted Theatre. 

Next, a panel of Mesa College students and professors hosted a Q/A session about the Haunted Theatre, in which SDUSD students asked a variety of questions, including some about how to produce a similar community outreach event at their own sites. Finally, students chose from a variety of technical theatre workshops to attend. The workshops included topics like scenic building and design, lighting, costume construction and design, publicity, stage management, and an introduction to film-making. 

The Mesa College Drama Day is hosted in partnership with the Mesa College Theatre Department and the San Diego Unified CCTE and VAPA Departments.

Robots to the Rescue!

Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten STEAM teachers were trained in their new project: Robots to the Rescue! The project is designed to encourage students to examine different ways people use robots to solve problems.

In Robots to the Rescue!, students are introduced to Ozobot robots and begin to explore how they work. Students learn how to program the Ozobots by color coding paths for the robot to follow. The color codes teach students basic coding concepts like cause/effect, critical thinking, and debugging. Students learn how to care for the robots and become Ozobot ambassadors for their school site. Kindergarteners will explain to the rest of the school how they can program and care for the robots. Imagine the look on a fifth grader’s face when a five year old teaches them how to code.

This unit will empower students to be problem-solvers and will give them confidence to take on new challenges. To learn more about Ozobots in education, visit: https://ozobot.com/stem-education.

Explore Solutions hosts San Diego Unified Students for Business and Youth Expo and Luncheon

Explore Solutions is a community based organization who provide guidance for high school students to access information needed to determine a successful plan to explore, understand, and pursue a post-high school plan that is right for them.

On Tuesday November 5th, students from Mira Mesa, Morse, Patrick Henry, Scripps Ranch, Serra, San Diego, and University City High Schools were invited to participate in the Business and Youth Expo and Luncheon.

During the luncheon our high school seniors learned from, were inspired by, and understand the career journeys of professionals aligned with their CCTE pathways.

The dedicated professionals set up exhibits and demos for students to explore during the Expo portion of the event. The students were encouraged to ask questions and interact with professionals from all priority sectors that were represented.

The students enjoyed learning about the various careers that are aligned with their passions.

Students participate in Tech Discovery Day with the LEAGUE

The LEAGUE of Amazing Programmers has partnered with San Diego Unified for up to 700 middle school students to participate in Tech Discovery Day!

While at the LEAGUE, students learn how computer games, websites, apps, and autonomous robots are created. Activities are led by Electrical Engineers, Software Engineers, and Scientists. Students are exposed to a variety of careers and learn about the diverse backgrounds professionals come from.

Students from Logan, Bethune, Memorial Prep, Bell, Golden Hill, and Wilson are scheduled to participate this year.

The LEAGUE also offers workshops at NO COST for students who qualify, at the Logan Heights Library, Malcolm X Library, and the Central Downtown Library. Students from all levels in grades 5-12 are invited to participate.

Contact The League for more info or to add your student to an interest list today! info@jointheleague.org

STEAM 3.0: Coding, Apps, and Sphero Robots

Our SDUSD Instructional Technology team launched their new computer science unit, Amazing Apps, along with an intro to Sphero Robotics at our first Grade 1 STEAM Training of the 2019-20 academic year.

Teachers practiced being STEAM learners by celebrating their risk-taking, open-mindedness, and creativity as they explored the Hour of Code, Sphero robotics and design thinking to make an app prototype. They will be bringing this amazing learning experience to their own first grade classrooms this fall culminating with the worldwide Hour of Code celebration (Dec. 2nd - 6th).

Before teachers left the training, they shared some inspiring reflections on their learning:

“Today I was a risk-taker ...I am not very good at using technology, but I had a blast., Thank you for giving us a positive day full of learning and fun. I can't wait to share my learning with my students and parents of course.” - Grade 1 teacher

Q: What did you take away from today's Hour of Code Experience?

• “I am excited to do it with my class and it isn't so scary now that we got to experience it ourselves.”
• “My students will learn a lot and have a ton of fun while learning as we prepare them for their future.”

Q: What are you looking forward to teaching your students about computer science?

• “I am really excited to give this opportunity with my students. I want my students to be creative and show their abilities using coding.”
• “How to explore and not be afraid to try something new.”
• “Having them experience trial and error, which will (hopefully!) lead to celebration and confidence!”
• “...that they will grow into confident, competent coders and app designers which will serve them in their future when they encounter problems and create solutions.”

Guitars in the Classroom Partnership

A team of Kearny DMD seniors have been working with Guitars in the Classroom (GITC) as part of their senior internship. Pictured left is the students with Executive Director Jessica Baron. The mission of this non-profit organization is to train, inspire and equip educators to provide vibrant daily learning that educates the whole child and promotes academic achievement through the power of cross-curricular, hands-on music. On October 10, the team visited GITC flagship school, Paradise Hills Elementary, where they had the opportunity to interview the school’s principal, Ms. Marin, and film two GITC teachers in action -- Ms. Steele (kindergarten) and Ms. Solorio (1st/2nd). Ms. Steele’s class focused on phonics and literacy with a lively, interactive alphabet song, while Ms. Solorio’s class sang about rows and columns for a musical math lesson. 

​​​​Mission Bay – CCTE Engineering Candy Bar Design Competition

The 2019 Candy Bar Design Competition is a Project Based Learning project sponsored by the CCTE Engineering Pathway. Students are asked to create a Mission Bay HS themed chocolate bar to be sold at sporting or other school events. Students survey relevant stakeholders, create specifications, and produce marketing material, such as a buyer persona and a full cost analysis. They design the bar, including ingredient-choice, nutritional information, single-serving size, and allergen information. Students also design, model, 3D print, and mold the chocolate bar, as well as designing the wrapper and justifying all of their design choices. Finally, students produce 3 bars to be tested and judged at a competition where they present their chocolate and results to a panel of 12 stakeholder judges. The winning bar is made using batch-production techniques and sold at school events until it sells out. At the end, profit and loss is calculated based on the project. It was exciting to see and taste this real-world project!

Parent Voices Redesign School’s Website

Parents at Carson Elementary STEAM Magnet gathered around their smart phones and school iPads to give input and to make the school website work better for everyone. 

Parents and guardians clicked, scrolled, and explored through the website with questions like: What’s working? What could be better? And, what do we want to see? 

One attendee suggested: "Do interviews with kids, starting with the little ones on up, and ask them ‘What do you like about STEAM? Why do you like coming to a STEAM school?" Another attendee suggested, “Have parent workshops to teach parents how to use the educational programs linked on the website, so parents can have a partnership with the student and the teacher.” 

These ideas empower our students as the owners of their STEAM experience, and also validate parents as active partners in their children’s learning. Parents will reconvene in the future to look at the changes made, give further input, and plan for ways to engage and share the changes with other parents who could not be at the meeting. 

Parents are key stakeholders in our STEAM program. They ensure that learning continues beyond the school day and advocate for children in ways that strengthen our learning community.

AEP Brings the Arts to 11,000 SDUSD Elementary Students

The Arts Education Project (AEP) provides regular and ongoing Professional Learning Community (PLC) release time for elementary classroom teachers through a rotation of discrete arts lessons. AEP utilizes specially trained Visiting Teachers with arts backgrounds who teach a sequence of standards-based lesson plans provided by the VAPA Department. Now in its fourth year, AEP has continued to expand, now reaching over 11,000 students at 29 elementary schools in San Diego Unified. 

During each visit, students at AEP schools receive three approximately one-hour arts lessons in a rotation of dance, music, theatre, and/or visual art. Schools can select from a nine-visit program or an eighteen-visit program. All elementary schools in San Diego Unified were invited to participate in the program. 

Schools use a variety of site based funding sources to pay for a customized AEP package that is tailored to their budget and staff needs. Most of the schools in the program use Title I funds while others use funds from foundations, site discretionary resources, and/or parent-teacher associations. The cost of the program for the site includes the Visiting Teachers’ salaries, benefits and training. It also includes materials and technology required to access lesson plans and teaching resources, and plug into classroom displays. Through this program, elementary grade-level teams can meet for a half-day block of PLC time (without having to write lesson plans), and every student receives a half-day of standards-based learning in the visual and performing arts. Schools participating in the Arts Education Project (AEP) this year: Benchley-Weinberger, Bethune K-8, Burbank, Carver, Chavez, Crown Point, Dingeman, Emerson-Bandini, Encanto, Fay, Field, Florence, Freese, Ibarra, Johnson, Jones, Kimbrough, Lafayette, Normal Heights, Pacific View, Penn, Porter, Rodriguez, Sequoia, Spreckels, Washington, Webster, Whitman, Zamorano 

More information about the SDUSD Arts Education Project can be found at https://sites.google.com/sandi.net/artseducationproject/home.

Arts Educators Participate in San Diego “Mega Conference”

San Diego Unified educators in dance, music, theatre, and visual art joined those from all over San Diego County for the Arts Empower Mega Conference, held on October 17 in Balboa Park. The annual conference is organized by Arts Empower, an initiative of the San Diego County Office of Education, with the support of the local chapters of arts education associations are also involved. More than 500 people attended this year’s conference, over 50 of them from San Diego Unified, and several of them presenters. 

The morning began with a general session featuring SDUSD VAPA Director Russ Sperling, along with SDCOE VAPA Coordinator Pauline Crooks and Jonathan Glus, Executive Director of the City of San Diego’s Commission for Arts and Culture. 

Numerous breakout sessions were available in three sessions during the late morning and afternoon. Some were led by SDUSD teachers, including: 

• Andrea Lemaitre (SCPA, dance), “Dance: Incorporating Limon Technique in Your Dance Classes Through Structured Improvisation Games”

 • Summer Williams and Sara Dickman (CPMA, dance): “Tap Drills and Skills” 

• Kayla Rodgers (San Diego High School, music): “Barbershop Harmony: Yes, You May”

• Russell Shedd (Scripps Ranch High School, music): “Students are Your Best Teachers” 

• J.P. Riley (Crawford High School, music): “Composing in the Classroom” 

Additionally, Desireee Cera, SDUSD Behavior Support Resource Specialist, co-presented with Guitars in the Classroom founder Jess Baron in a session called “Adaptive Music for Special Education: Teach Music Inclusively with AMASE”. VAPA Department administrators Russ Sperling and Anne Fennell presented the breakout session “Know Your Students – Grow Your Program!” (pictured), and Anne also co-presented a later session called “Music Connections for Infinite Possibilities.”