It is amazing how much we can accomplish when we work together.
This sentiment applies to a unique and exciting collaborative between the Milpitas Unified School District and the San Jose Evergreen Community College District. Working in partnership, we are in the process of designing and delivering a 21st Century Education Center. Our goal is to expand educational opportunities throughout our shared school communities. With the addition of this remarkable educational facility and the many services that it will provide to the students in Milpitas, we are investing in a 21st century work force and local businesses by offering high quality technical training and vocational instruction. And, we are providing college level courses to our high school students who will be able to choose from a wide range of college courses and graduate with college credit, which can help reduce their higher education costs. Planning Stage – All Questions To Be Considered While the 21st Education Center will raise the bar on our educational offerings, it will also raise many questions. Still in the planning stages, the 21st Education Center must be implemented with careful consideration of questions from students, staff, parents and the community. At this time, we are considering the following: parking and traffic; the process for determining the best course offerings to serve the wide range of students throughout Milpitas; the steps to thoughtfully inform the neighbors about construction; and a method for ensuring that the reduction of the playing field will not compromise students' access to sports and recreation. These are just some of the questions we are asking on behalf of the community. We want to share with you our vision for the 21st Century Education Center, and we want to hear your questions and ideas. Please join us at an informational town hall meeting on Wednesday, April 16th from 7 – 8:30 p.m. at Thomas Russell Middle School (1500 Escuela Parkway). Milpitas is a community that believes in the importance of strong education. Parent, resident, and business support is the reason for our success, and we are grateful. I hope that you will join Rita Cepeda, Ed. D., Chancellor of the San Jose Evergreen Community College District, and me at this meeting. Our goal is to expand educational opportunities throughout Milpitas. Our hope is that all stakeholders will come together to celebrate this wonderful opportunity to invest in our students, and our future. Cary Matsuoka Superintendent One of my greatest privileges as Superintendent of Schools is visiting classrooms to observe student learning. Guided by dedicated staff and professionals, our students are encouraged to reach, try and aim for their best. Remembering my days as a classroom teacher, observing classrooms in our District and thinking about my own three children, I know that each and every child has their own unique potential and challenges, and it is our responsibility to meet their needs.
We know some children face greater challenges than others ̶ immigrants who must learn a second language in addition to math, science, social studies and art; socio-economically disadvantaged students who often do not have access to enriching extracurricular activities or technology when they leave school; and our foster youth who sometimes face personal situations that can make aggressive curriculum seem virtually impossible. In our District, we are dedicated to help every student achieve their best. From highly motivated students to those who require support to know success and acquire the skills and confidence to pursue the education necessary to succeed in life, it is our responsibility to meet the kids on their terms. This is one reason I am pleased to share with you the new funding formula for our state's public schools. Beginning this year, the State of California has changed the way school districts are funded. It is providing to the 1,000+ school districts and school boards throughout the state more decision making authority over programming and budgeting. The goal is to allow the people closest to the community and familiar with their students’ needs the flexibility to build the programs that will work for your students, your schools, your community. Called the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), two key elements of this funding plan are new. Given that education is all about student success, it should come as no surprise that the two elements focus on students and parents – after all, our children's first and lifetime teachers are their parents. First, you, our parents and community members, must clearly be added to the process. As part of our budgeting plan, we are asked to allow you to review our plan and provide their input. The Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD) plan is in development. Please mark the date of Wednesday, March 19, 2014, for a town hall meeting about our district plan. Second, students, the heart of our work, must be targeted for specific needs, as we must clearly outline a plan to help address students with specific needs to improve their chances of academic success, both in K-12 and to help assure they are ready for college and/or their post-high school career. The LCFF budget provides increased funds for districts to target services for English language learners, children who are socio-economically disadvantaged and foster youth, to help bridge, statewide, persistent learning gaps. I understand and appreciate the Governor's and Legislature's intent with these funds because I see the wide range of challenges, gifts and opportunities that each child brings to school. On behalf of the Board of Education and our many dedicated teachers, administrators, staff members and students, I hope that you will join us at our town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 19th, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., in the Board Room of the District Office, Bldg. 500, 1331 East Calaveras Boulevard, Milpitas. Cary Matsuoka Superintendent There is a great video called, “The Third Teacher” that informed the redesigns of our schools in Milpitas Unified School District. The video speaks about three “teachers” in the lives of students – the classroom teacher, their classmates, and the space where students learn. We typically do not give much thought about the space within a school, but creating the right physical environment is an untapped “third teacher.” In Milpitas Unified, we are creating classroom spaces that are integrated with the redesign of our instructional program.
Over the summer of 2013, we modernized five of our schools: Burnett, Randall, Spangler, Weller, and Rancho Middle School. We replaced floors, carpet, heating and air conditioning systems, and created a learning center on each campus. Our learning centers are large, creative, and support collaborative student work. They include furniture that is flexible and encourages student-centered learning. Students love the new spaces and can’t wait to go to the learning labs on campus. You can view images of our five learning centers on our district website under the community: bond & construction updates. In summer of 2014, six more of our schools will be modernized and will receive their new learning centers: Curtner, Pomeroy, Rose, Sinnott, Russell, and Milpitas High. We are pleased to announce that construction of a new aquatics center at Milpitas High will begin this fall. The new location of the aquatics center will be along Arizona Avenue which will support better access to the facility for athletics and by the community. The new competition pool will support swimming, diving, and allows us to add water polo as a competitive athletic program. The facility will also include a shallower “warming pool” which is better suited for teaching swimming to beginners. This will be a great addition to our athletic program and to the entire Milpitas community. The Board of Trustees has made the timely execution of our facilities bond program a top priority. Since the passage of Measure E by the Milpitas community, we have accomplished $21.7 million worth of projects in the first fifteen months. Our phase one projects have been completed on time and under budget, with an estimated savings of $1.95 million. By the end of summer 2014, we will have completed over 50% of our facilities bond program. We are excited about creating spaces that support quality teaching and learning. Our teachers and students are appreciative of the support from the community as we transform the physical spaces in our schools for 21st Century learning environments. Cary Matsuoka Superintendent Seventy-Seven Per Cent of Graduates will Attend College in Fall of 2013 The month of June will begin with thousands of families celebrating the achievements of their children in Milpitas Unified School District. On Saturday, June 8, 2013, we will celebrate the promotion of 760 6th graders to middle school, the promotion of 740 8th graders to high school, and the graduation of 816 seniors from Cal Hills and Milpitas High Schools. While attending the senior awards ceremony at Milpitas High School, I was inspired by all the stories of success, hope, and bright futures. Among the 734 seniors at Milpitas High, 272 of our graduates will attend a 4-year university next fall. One hundred seniors are headed to the University of California and 136 will attend a California State University. Including our 293 students who will attend a community college, 77% of our graduates will be attending college in the fall of 2013! Educating our children is a team effort and the eight hundred employees of Milpitas Unified celebrate with our families as we watch our seniors reach this milestone.
It was nearly one year ago that the Milpitas community passed Measure E in support of our students. We are pleased to share that we have six major projects under construction in the summer of 2013. We have broken ground on a new multi-purpose building at Pomeroy and construction has begun. Five of our schools will undergo significant modernization this summer: Rancho, Burnett, Randall, Spangler, and Weller. The projected budget of the summer work is $15 Million and overall, the bids have come in under budget. We made a commitment to our community to put these resources into use as soon as possible, and we are saving money by moving fast. When we reopen school on August 19th, five of our campuses will be modernized and new 21st Century learning centers will be created for our students and staff. Milpitas Unified schools continue to collect awards and recognition. In the recent San Jose Mercury News article about middle schools, Rancho and Russell Middle Schools defy the trend and outperform many of their counterparts in other districts. The similar schools ranking compares schools of similar diversity and socioeconomic status. Russell Middle School scored a 9-10 and Rancho a 9-9. The second digit means that Russell ranks in the top 10% of their similar schools group and Rancho in the top 20% of their similar schools group. On a related note, three of our district schools were recently recognized as California Distinguished Schools – Milpitas High, Rancho Middle School, and Burnett Elementary. The rise of Milpitas Unified continues! Over the summer of 2013, we will be working hard on many fronts. Facilities will be upgraded, our technology continues to improve, teachers will be working on instructional design, and plans for implementation of the Common Core State Standards are in motion. We appreciate the support and partnership of the community, and we look forward to the continuing success of our students and schools. Cary Matsuoka Superintendent Last fall I reported to the community that Milpitas Unified School District is a rising district. The evidence continues to mount that we are on the move. The accompanying graph shows a seven year comparison of the district’s API score vs. the State of California. The Academic Performance Index (API) is one measurement of the quality of a school district and Milpitas Unified is showing consistent and sustained growth. This positive, upward trend is the result of the hard work of our students and staff in our schools and the support and care of parents and families at home. We now have three schools with API scores over 900: Curtner at 930, Sinnott at 915, and Pomeroy at 901. Milpitas High continues to show improvement with a score of 827, a growth of 15 points. Our highest growth in 2012 was achieved by Calaveras Hills High School with a growth of 71 points, moving from 570 to 631! Our two middle schools, Rancho Milpitas and Thomas Russell, deserve special recognition for their achievements. Both of our middle schools have achieved a nine-year run of growth in their API’s and both schools are pushing 900. Rancho’s API score is 880 and Russell’s is 887. For our two middle schools to be approaching the 900 threshold is extraordinary. Our middle school teachers work hard to foster the intellectual and social-emotional growth of our students. Middle school can be a challenging stage of life but our middle schools staffs create a positive and supportive environment for our students. We are extremely proud of the achievements of our middle school students and staff and we look forward to continued improvements at Rancho Milpitas and Thomas Russell Middle Schools. With the support of our community through Measure E, we are creating the learning environments needed to support 21st Century learning. The physical and technology improvements needed for learning are underway and we will report on those improvements in future articles. On behalf of the 10,000 students of Milpitas Unified, thank you for your investment in the next generation for their future. Cary Matsuoka Superintendent |
Cary MatsuokaOccasional thoughts on the progress of our district. Archives
May 2016
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