Back from a much-needed spring break, it’s assessment season for Santa Clara Unified School District students and the Board of Trustees gets back to business.
New Hires
At their meeting on Thursday, April 27, the Board approved bringing Alissa Meltzer on as the Executive Director of Schools. They also approved hiring Nathan Ramazane as the new Principal at Ponderosa Elementary School and Angie Scott as the new Assistant Principal at Wilson High School.
These hirings all passed unanimously with Trustee Albert Gonzalez being absent and Student Trustee Anika Bose also voting ‘yes.’
Co-Teaching Comments
Earlier in the meeting, teachers from Santa Clara High School came to speak on negotiations with UTC that were going to be discussed in closed session. The teachers shared their positive experiences with co-teaching, both for the teachers and the students.
Suzanne Miller-Moody and Angelese Reed have been co-teaching together as science teachers at Santa Clara High School for three years.
“In the past 3 years, we’ve seen increased collaboration, increased positive models of academic interaction, and definitely seeing a difference in the way our students interact with each other,” said Miller-Moody. “There’s much less of us versus them.”
“We believe co-teaching is worth wholeheartedly supporting because having two teachers will be better equipped to create and implement universally designed lessons which provide access to the curriculum for all students in the least restrictive environment,” added Reed.
After closed session, regarding the negotiations, Board President Vickie Fairchild said they heard information on that item. No action was taken.
May Resolutions
The Board voted to affirm May 9 as National Fentanyl Awareness Day, May 10 as Day of the Teacher, May 6 as National Nurses Day, May 21-27 as Classified School Employee Week, and May 5 as School Lunch Hero Day.
Other Business
For instructional materials, the Board approved TRUE+WAY American Sign Language, by Purple Moontower LLC for the American Sign Language Program. They also approved a new Spanish book, Autentico, by SAVVAS Learning Company.
The Board meets next on Thursday, May 11. Meetings are live-streamed on the District’s YouTube page and agendas are posted on their website.