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News
5/4/2018 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ursula Kroemer Leimbach / communications@mdusd.org / mobile: (760) 705-6919
Mt. Diablo Unified’s 6th Annual Academy Awards event honors outstanding teachers, classified staff, and volunteers
WHAT: Mt. Diablo Unified School District’s 6th Annual Academy Awards
WHEN: Thursday, May 10, 2018, 5 – 9 p.m. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $35 and include appetizers, dinner, and dessert. They are available to order online.
WHERE: Centre Concord, 5298 Clayton Rd., Concord 94521 (Get Directions)
BACKGROUND: For the sixth year in a row, the Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) and the Mt. Diablo Education Association (MDEA) will hold its joint, annual Academy Awards event, honoring educators, administrators, classified employees, and parent volunteers and volunteer organizations for their significant impacts on the lives of students and families.
Edi Bersan, Mayor for the city of Concord, will formally welcome all attendees. Dr. Nellie Meyer, MDUSD Superintendent, and Guy Moore, President of the education association, will serve as emcees. The keynote speaker will be Cherise Khaund, President of the MDUSD Education Foundation.
Students from Westwood Elementary School’s Show Choir and the Concord High School Mariachi Band with dancers will provide entertainment.
A farm-to-table dinner will be prepared by student chefs in the Sustainable Hospitality Pathway from Mt. Diablo High School’s International Hospitality and Tourism Academy (IHTA).
Awards will be presented to winners among approximately 130 nominees in the following categories:
- Teachers of the Year
- Community Involvement Award (Teacher)
- Creative Curriculum Award (Teacher)
- Leadership and Courage Award (Teacher)
- Lifetime Achievement Award (Teacher)
- Most Inspirational Teacher
- Outstanding Administrator
- Outstanding Classified Employee (Site)
- Outstanding Classified Employee (Central Office)
- Outstanding Parent Volunteer
- Outstanding Volunteer Organization
Certificates of Recognition will be provided to the nominees by the offices of Senator Steve Glazer, Senator Bill Dodd, Assembly Member Catherine Baker, and Assembly Member Tim Grayson.
Schedule
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Time |
Activity/Speaker |
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5:00 – 5:45 p.m. |
Reception |
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5:45 p.m. |
Welcome – The Honorable Mayor Edi Birsan, City of Concord, and emcees, Dr. Nellie Meyer, Superintendent, and Guy Moore, MDEA President. |
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6:00 – 7:00 p.m. |
Dinner |
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6:15 p.m. |
Keynote Address – Cherise Khaund, President, MDUSD Education Foundation |
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6:45 p.m. |
Performance – Westwood Elementary School Show Choir, under the direction of Cyndi Sharp |
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7:00 p.m. |
MDUSD Teachers of the Year – Kelly Perkins, Ygnacio Valley High School, and Rosie Reid, Northgate High School |
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7:15 p.m. |
Concord High School Mariachi Band and Dancers, under the direction of Gary Courtney |
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7:30 p.m. |
Awards for
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8:00 p.m. |
Presentation by Mt. Diablo High School chef/instructor Cindy Gershen on nutrition and education skills and culinary education |
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8:10 p.m. |
Teacher Awards
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8:30 p.m. |
Closing Remarks – Sylvia Chatagnier, Academy Awards Chairwoman, and MDUSD teacher, retired; and Anita Johnson, President-elect, Mt. Diablo Education Association |
The names of award winners will be available on the MDUSD website the day after the event, but can be provided to members of the media, embargoed, upon request. Photos can also be provided upon request. Please consider monitoring the District’s Twitter account for photos and updates throughout the evening.
# # #
About Mt. Diablo Unified
Mt. Diablo Unified, located in Contra Costa County, is honored to serve approximately 32,000 students at one of more than 50 school sites in the cities of Clayton, Concord, Pleasant Hill; portions of Martinez, Pittsburg and Walnut Creek; and the unincorporated communities of Bay Point, Lafayette, and Pacheco. As part of a richly diverse community, MDUSD families represent numerous ethnic communities, speaking nearly 50 different languages and dialects. We offer award-winning innovative programs in Career Technical Education (CTE); Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); extensive visual and performing arts programs; and rich foreign language and dual immersion offerings. MDUSD is pleased to have opened its first International Baccalaureate (IB) program and three new regional magnet programs for the 2017-2018 school year. Efforts are underway to establish the IB program at the middle and elementary school level. MDUSD also expanded its middle college program, College Now, now serving an additional 35 students. Learn more at http://www.mdusd.org/.
Posted by: Debbie Maher, District Admin, Mt. Diablo Unified School District
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Published: 5/4/18
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ursula Kroemer Leimbach / communications@mdusd.org / mobile: (760) 705-6919
Mt. Diablo Unified’s annual Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) Showcase shows what schools are doing to create a positive school culture and school climate
PBIS strategies improve equity, reduce school and district suspensions
WHAT: The annual Positive Intervention and Supports (PBIS) Showcase, highlighting best practices for school-wide behavior supports of all students. Twenty MDUSD schools were honored last fall by the California PBIS Coalition for their outstanding efforts in implementing PBIS programs.
“Our PBIS program has had a direct and positive impact on the reduction of school and district suspension and expulsion rates,” said Dr. Nellie Meyer, Superintendent for Mt. Diablo Unified. “This has become an essential matter of equity for us, ensuring that all students achieve and are given an environment to become their social, emotional, and academic best.”
The Showcase is open to the public, and will include displays and presentations, and information for families for utilizing PBIS strategies at home.
WHERE: Monte Gardens Elementary School, 3841 Larkspur Dr., Concord, 94519 (Get Directions) On-site media contact will be Lisa Murphy-Oates.
WHEN: Thursday, May 3, 2018, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
OVERVIEW:
Positive behavior support is an application of a behaviorally-based and data-backed systems approach for broadly improving student behavior across the school environment, leading to a positive and inclusive school climate and social culture. The data-based PBIS strategies support all students based on three-tiered approach to social, emotional, and behavioral support. The intervention component of PBIS relies on the implementation of restorative practices and restorative justice, instead of older discipline practices that were punishment-based and included reprimands, loss of privileges, office referrals, suspensions and expulsions. Research has shown that the implementation of punishment, especially when it is used inconsistently and in the absence of other positive strategies, is ineffective.
Introducing, modeling, and reinforcing positive social behavior is an important step of a student's educational experience. Teaching behavioral expectations and rewarding students for following them is a much more positive approach than waiting for misbehavior to occur before responding. The purpose of school wide PBIS is to establish a climate in which appropriate behavior is the norm.
Extensive research shows that in addition to building school community, PBIS improves social, emotional, and academic outcomes for all students, including students with disabilities and students from under-represented groups, and has a positive impact on student attendance and engagement.
About Mt. Diablo Unified
Mt. Diablo Unified, located in Contra Costa County, is honored to serve approximately 32,000 students at one of more than 50 school sites in the cities of Clayton, Concord, Pleasant Hill; portions of Martinez, Pittsburg and Walnut Creek; and the unincorporated communities of Bay Point, Lafayette, and Pacheco. As part of a richly diverse community, MDUSD families represent numerous ethnic communities, speaking nearly 50 different languages and dialects. We offer award-winning innovative programs in Career Technical Education (CTE); Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); extensive visual and performing arts programs; and rich foreign language and dual immersion offerings. MDUSD is pleased to have opened its first International Baccalaureate (IB) program and three new regional magnet programs for the 2017-2018 school year. Efforts are underway to establish the IB program at the middle and elementary school level. MDUSD also expanded its middle college program, College Now, now serving an additional 35 students. Learn more at http://www.mdusd.org/.
Posted by: Debbie Maher, District Admin, Mt. Diablo Unified School District
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Published: 4/27/18
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ursula Kroemer Leimbach / communications@mdusd.org / mobile: (760) 705-6919
Mt. Diablo Unified School District’s annual Career Pathways Showcase highlights students’ career education and training experiences
Event promotes opportunity for business and community leaders to meet today’s educators and tomorrow’s creative workforce
WHAT: Annual Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) Career Pathway Showcase, providing an opportunity for business leaders and community members to meet with students and learn about their career pathway experiences and projects.
WHEN: Friday, May 4, 2018, 11:00 a.m.- 1 p.m. The event is open to the community. Tickets are $30; registration is available online.
WHERE: John Muir Health Concord Campus, Concord I Conference Room, 2540 East St., Concord (Get Directions)
BACKGROUND: Career and technical education (CTE) can benefit students directly by providing earning advantages before and after graduation. Extensive research points to CTE experiences as essential to motivate students to get involved in their learning by engaging them in problem-solving activities that construct knowledge and by providing hands-on activities that enable them to apply knowledge; bring students and adults together in a setting of collaborative learning; and offer opportunities for students to interact with community members, potential employers, and students and teachers who share similar career/vocational interests.
As part of its focus to provide high school students with rigorous and relevant educational experiences and career-integrated academics, Mt. Diablo Unified offers students numerous academies and career pathways, and an extensive offering of rigorous Career Technical Education (CTE) coursework.
MDUSD academies and pathways include:
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College Park High School |
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Concord High School |
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Mt. Diablo High School |
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Northgate High School |
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Ygnacio Valley High School |
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SCHEDULE:
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11:00 – 11:45 a.m. |
Exhibits Open |
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12:00 – 1:00 p.m. |
Speakers Program and Luncheon |
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Isabelle Fluery, Student, Digital Safari Academy, Mt. Diablo High School Isabelle will speak about the value of internships for students, focusing the ability to practice what they are learning in their classrooms with a client, learning to collaborate with clients, and being responsive to clients’ needs.
Katalina will speak about the value of having community partners work with her students, and how the partnerships bring relevancy to classroom instruction and make it more real. She will also talk about the growth and maturity she sees in students when they work with clients.
Kristin Watson, Special Education Staff Training (SEST) Coordinator, Mt. Diablo Adult Education Kristin will talk about the value of the relationship she has with students in the Digital Safari Academy, and the role they play in helping her with projects.
Carmen Perkins, Earn & Learn East Bay Carmen will provide an update on Earn & Learn East Bay, a regional effort to connect students and community partners and to support meaningful work-based learning. Specifically, Carmen will provide a demonstration of ELENA, the client management system developed to help support this initiative. |
The event is co-sponsored by Mt. Diablo Unified, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, and John Muir Health. Day-of contact for media will be Heather Fontanilla, Career Pathways & Linked Learning administrator for MDUSD, at (925) 330-1392.
Resources:
California Department of Education (CDE)
Career Technical Education - https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ct/
Mt. Diablo Unified School District
Career and Technical Education - http://www.mdusd.org/cte
Academies, CTE Pathways & Courses - http://www.mdusd.org/careeracademics
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Career and Technical Education in High School: Does it Improve Student Outcomes? http://edex.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/publication/pdfs/%282016.04.07%29%20Career%20and%20Technical%20Education%20in%20High%20School.pdf
About Mt. Diablo Unified
Mt. Diablo Unified, located in Contra Costa County, is honored to serve approximately 32,000 students at one of more than 50 school sites in the cities of Clayton, Concord, Pleasant Hill; portions of Martinez, Pittsburg and Walnut Creek; and the unincorporated communities of Bay Point, Lafayette, and Pacheco. As part of a richly diverse community, MDUSD families represent numerous ethnic communities, speaking nearly 50 different languages and dialects. We offer award-winning innovative programs in Career Technical Education (CTE); Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); extensive visual and performing arts programs; and rich foreign language and dual immersion offerings. MDUSD is pleased to have opened its first International Baccalaureate (IB) program and three new regional magnet programs for the 2017-2018 school year. Efforts are underway to establish the IB program at the middle and elementary school level. MDUSD also expanded its middle college program, College Now, now serving an additional 35 students. Learn more at http://www.mdusd.org/.
Posted by: Debbie Maher, District Admin, Mt. Diablo Unified School District
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Published: 4/27/18
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ursula Kroemer Leimbach / communications@mdusd.org / mobile: (760) 705-6919
Building and construction trades field trip for Mt. Diablo Unified high school counselors and college/career advisors
High school teams hit the road to meet with local building trade organizations to explore opportunities for career education partnerships
WHAT: About two dozen Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) high school Counselors, College and Career Advisors, and Work-based Learning Coordinators have been invited by the Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council to visit some building trades centers to learn more about construction and building trade career opportunities for high school graduates.
Representatives from the Council recently met with MDUSD’s Career Pathway Advisory Committee, and offered to host the field trip as a way for school advisors to learn more about entry-level opportunities, apprenticeship programs, and journeyperson training. Data from the California Department of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) indicate that prevailing wages for apprentices in Contra Costa County, working in the skilled trades, start at close to $30 for the hourly basic rate.
WHERE/WHEN: MDUSD educators will meet at Ygnacio Valley High School, 755 Oak Grove Rd., Concord, to board a bus for the field trip taking them to three locations:
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Time |
Business |
Address |
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9:15 a.m. |
United Association (UA) Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union 342 |
935 Detroit Ave., Concord |
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11:00 a.m. (Stop will include lunch) |
3120 Bayshore Rd., Benicia |
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1:00 p.m. |
3801 Park Rd., Benicia |
The bus is scheduled to return to Ygnacio Valley High School by 3 p.m. The media contact for the field trip is Stephanie Roberts, Director of Special Projects, at (925) 250-5526 (mobile).
About Mt. Diablo Unified
Mt. Diablo Unified, located in Contra Costa County, is honored to serve approximately 32,000 students at one of more than 50 school sites in the cities of Clayton, Concord, Pleasant Hill; portions of Martinez, Pittsburg and Walnut Creek; and the unincorporated communities of Bay Point, Lafayette, and Pacheco. As part of a richly diverse community, MDUSD families represent numerous cultures and ethnicities, speaking nearly 50 different languages and dialects. We offer award-winning, innovative programs in Career Technical Education (CTE); Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); extensive visual and performing arts programs; and rich foreign language and dual immersion offerings. MDUSD is pleased to have opened its first International Baccalaureate (IB) program and three new regional magnet programs for the 2017-2018 school year. Efforts are underway to establish the IB program at the middle and elementary school level. MDUSD also expanded its middle college program, College Now, now serving an additional 35 students. Learn more at http://www.mdusd.org/.
Posted by: Debbie Maher, District Admin, Mt. Diablo Unified School District
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Published: 4/25/18
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ursula Kroemer Leimbach / communications@mdusd.org / mobile: (760) 705-6919
Mt. Diablo Unified “You Make a Difference” awards event honors students, parents, teachers, administrators, and others who make a difference in the lives of students with unique needs
Recognition event, co-sponsored by MDUSD’s Community Advisory Committee for Special Education (CAC) and Special Education Department, approaching 20th year
WHAT: The Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) Special Education Department and Community Advisory Community for Special Education (CAC) are hosting the semi-annual “You Make a Difference” awards event, honoring those in the community and within the District who make a difference in the lives of students with unique needs, including those with disabilities, and homeless or foster youth. More than 20 recipients will be recognized, including students, parents, teachers and other staff, administrators, and community members. Congressman Mark DeSaulnier and MDUSD’s Homeless Outreach Program for Education (HOPE) are among the honorees.
WHERE: Mountain View Elementary School, 1705 Thornwood Dr., Concord 94521 (Get directions)
WHEN: Wednesday, April 24, 2018, 6:30 p.m., in the school’s Multi-Use Room (MUR)
OVERVIEW:
The “You Make a Difference” awards began in 1999 as an opportunity to thank those involved in the lives of students with unique needs for their positive impact and contributions, and as a jointly-sponsored event by the District’s Special Education Department and Community Advisory Committee. Nominees represent a wide range of stakeholders and education partners, including students, staff, teachers, administrators, community members, and community organizations.
This year, 21 recipients will be recognized. While the honorees know they will be recognized at tomorrow’s event, they do not yet know why, or by whom. The nominations will be read at tomorrow’s event. Each recipient will receive a commemorative plaque, saluting their contributions.
INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:
Superintendent Nellie Meyer
Board Members
Members of the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education
Special Education administrators, staff, and teachers
Students
Parents/Families
VISUALS:
Awards presentation
Slideshow of photos of recipients (doing what they do to make a difference!), produced by a student at College Park High School
Student poster(s)
The event is open to the public. Your coverage is welcome. On-site media contact is Ursula Kroemer Leimbach at (760) 705-6919.
About Mt. Diablo Unified
Mt. Diablo Unified, located in Contra Costa County, is honored to serve approximately 32,000 students at one of more than 50 school sites in the cities of Clayton, Concord, Pleasant Hill; portions of Martinez, Pittsburg and Walnut Creek; and the unincorporated communities of Bay Point, Lafayette, and Pacheco. As part of a richly diverse community, MDUSD families represent numerous ethnic communities, speaking nearly 50 different languages and dialects. We offer award-winning innovative programs in Career Technical Education (CTE); Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); extensive visual and performing arts programs; and rich foreign language and dual immersion offerings. MDUSD is pleased to have opened its first International Baccalaureate (IB) program and three new regional magnet programs for the 2017-2018 school year. Efforts are underway to establish the IB program at the middle and elementary school level. MDUSD also expanded its middle college program, College Now, now serving an additional 35 students. Learn more at http://www.mdusd.org/.
Posted by: Debbie Maher, District Admin, Mt. Diablo Unified School District
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Published: 4/24/18
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The November Community Advisory Committee Meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 in the Board Room at 7:00 p.m.
Bring a Friend!
Posted by: Chris Wilburn
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Published: 10/12/17
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© 2017-2018 Mt. Diablo Unified School District
1936 Carlotta Dr.,
Concord,
CA 94519
(925) 682-8000 Phone | TTY |
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