Runner up is Nicole Matsutani of John Muir Elementary

By AUSD

The Antioch Unified School District 2021 Teacher of the Year is Crystal Van Dyke.  Mrs. Van Dyke was nominated by a fellow Mission colleague who opened his recommendation with, “Crystal is the straw that stirs the drink, the glue that holds everything together for us.  She has been a godsend for us during this distance learning, not only keeping us together and focused with our teaching but also troubleshooting all of the technical issues that we and our students have.”

As amazing as Mrs. Van Dyke has been in supporting the Mission staff, she goes above and beyond her own classroom and school walls to support the district at large.  Mrs. Van Dyke actively serves as a mentor in our pre-induction programs, and she is an outstanding professional developer who always steps up to the plate and provides engaging and relevant workshops and support sessions for all AUSD teachers.  She leads our elementary SETLs with grace and confidence, has been the key person for Seesaw support for the entire district, and will undoubtedly be the go-to for state testing this spring for all elementary teachers and administrators.

Beyond her incredible support skills, Mrs. Van Dyke is an incredible classroom teacher.  She makes lifelong connections with her students, with many coming back to visit her years after leaving her classroom and Mission.  Crystal never gives up on students and is a shining example of an educator who truly believes “all students can learn.” She is rigorous, caring, engaging, and most importantly she’s the role model so many of our students need in their lives.

This year’s runner-up for Teacher of the Year is Nicole Matsutani.  Ms. Matsutani is a K-2 Special Day Class Teacher at John Muir Elementary.  Nicole Matsutani began at Muir as a Resource Teacher.  During the 2019-20 school year, Nicole moved over to become Muir’s K-2 SDC teacher.  Nicole grew as a teacher during this time, adjusting to working with students across the spectrum, including mild/moderate students to students with extreme learning difficulties.  With the arrival of COVID-19, Nicole continued to engage deeply with her students and families.  Nicole goes above and beyond what is required of her.  With empathy and love, she makes sure her student have the supplies, work, and other necessities designed to meet the students’ IEP goals.  Nicole is caring, hardworking, and extremely dedicated to her craft.  Each student’s success is her number one priority, so much so that Nicole spends long hours lesson planning, developing IEPs , and reaching out to families daily.  Nicole’s sweet and outgoing demeanor brings warmth to all who encounter her.  She is always optimistic and seeks positive outcomes in any situation.  Nicole’s knowledge and passion for the classroom and students with disabilities truly make her a valued member of Muir’s staff and a proud AUSD employee.

There were so many wonderful nominees, it was extremely difficult to narrow down the list of finalists and even more difficult to select the Teacher of the Year and Runner-Up.  Please join AUSD in congratulating these exemplary educators!

 

42 opened Tuesday; more will open at the middle and high schools next week

“It’s so good to have the kids back” – Lone Tree Elementary Principal Crystal Berry

By Allen Payton

As part of the Antioch Unified School District’s new model for schools during the remainder of the school year, Learning Centers opened in all elementary schools on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. It has allowed some students to return to school for the first time in a year. Reopening the schools in this manner qualifies district to receive state funds for school reopening of over $4.5 million. (See related article)

“We opened 42 learning centers and 31 SDC classes for special education students at elementary schools,” Superintendent Stephanie Anello said. “Middle and high schools start next week.”

One of the schools is Lone Tree Elementary where 77 students attended on Tuesday. This reporter toured the school and Learning Center with Board Vice President Dr. Clyde Lewis

School Vice Principal Gretchen Gaudy greeted us and explained the process for students to enter the campus, each day.

“There is both an AM and PM group. The AM group checks in at 7:45 a.m.,” she shared. “Each one comes for three hours. They check in with a QR code to complete a health screener, if their patents haven’t already taken the survey at home.”

“The students enter the multipurpose room and are screened by a thermal scanner,” Gaudy explained. “If their temperature is over 100.4 then they’re taken to the wellness area and their parents are called, if they’ve already left, to have them picked up and taken home.”

The scanners cost $8,000 each.

Meals Provided for All Students

“The AM kids get lunch, dinner, snack and breakfast for the next day,” Gaudy continued. “The PM group eats a hot lunch on campus before the session begins at 11:45. Then when they leave, they’re also given dinner, snack and breakfast. That’s for all districts, right now through the pandemic.”

Principal Crystal Berry served as the guide into the classrooms and for the remainder of the tour.

“Right now, we have 33 students during the PM session and a total of 77 kids who showed up,” she shared. “We have a K-2 class and a 3-5 class.”

“They’re on virtually with their teacher or working on their Seesaw learning and activities platform (used by K-3rd),” Berry explained. “The classroom is supported by a certificated teacher, instructional aids and monitors. They assist students with accessing their live online meetings and completing their assignments. Fourth and fifth grade students use the Microsoft Teams platform.”

“Right now we have 80 spots with 40 in the morning and 40 in the afternoon,” she continued. “We can only have 20 students in the classroom with four-feet social distancing.”

“More than the three-foot minimum,” Lewis pointed out.

“The kids do virtual PE and music. They follow a teacher on screen and run in place, do calisthenics, and he talks to them about health habits,” Berry shared. “Then at recess each classroom has a bin of different equipment. The students can go out and play one-person tether ball and wall ball, chalk drawing in the four-square courts, hoola hoops and jump rope.”

“It’s so good to have the kids back,” she stated. “It’s such a great feeling to have them in school and socialize with their peers which is something that’s been missing. They need that social and emotional interaction. I was very pleased to see how well our kindergartners transitioned in. None of them were crying.”

“Our students said they’re happy to be back in person learning and the opportunity to see their peers,” Berry added.

“Our learning center provides opportunities for students that have difficulty with virtual learning to have support with their studies,” she continued. “That’s especially important for our ESL students and those with special needs. Our students are attending four days a week. But that’s a decision per school. Others are attending only two days a week.”

“We got a lot of calls from other parents who drove by and saw students on campus. So, I’m sure we’ll be expanding the learning center capacity,” said Berry. “Parents aren’t allowed on campus according to CDC guidelines. So, I held a virtual orientation on Friday so parents could learn about the process and schedule, and safety protocols.”

For more information about the Antioch Unified School District Learning Centers and 4th Quarter Learning click here.

Family, principal and Antioch school district staff celebrate during Thursday ceremony

By Antioch Unified School District

It’s not often a high school student is a presented with a $200,000 check but that’s exactly what happened to Emma Crandell. On Thursday, April 15, 2021 the Deer Valley High senior received the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship.

During an outdoor ceremony at the school, Petty Officer Byung Jung, of the Antioch U.S. Navy Recruiting Station, presented Emma with the impressive award while a small group of staff and family cheered her on.  They were joined by her family, Deer Valley Principal Bukky Oyebade and Antioch Unified School District staff. She was selected through a rigorous process from among thousands of students across the state and nation.

Emma plans to attend the University of San Diego and be a part of the Midshipmen, which are one of the “largest uniformed bodies of students in the nation that provides hands-on leadership experience and enhances a world-class education,” according to a press release.

“We are very excited that Emma was selected from thousands of students who applied for the scholarship,” said Oyebade.

Jung said the scholarship will “pave the way for Emma to get commissioned as an Officer in the Navy.”

He added that in a typical school year, all over the country, “nearly 4,000 high school seniors apply for the scholarship. Receiving (this) is a miraculous achievement that only selects 30 percent of its applicants.”

Naval ROTC programs educate and train qualified young men and women for service as commissioned officers in the Navy’s unrestricted line, the Navy Nurse Corps and the Marine Corps. They receive 100 percent full tuition, books, fees and other financial benefits at many of the leading colleges and universities. Upon graduation, midshipmen are commissioned as officers in the US Navy or Marine Corps. #WeAreAUSD

Over 15,000 miles were logged during the 12-day competition

By Allen Payton

Members of the Kiwanis Club of the Delta-Antioch presented checks of $500 each to three schools in Antioch, this week, rewarding them for their participation in the service organization’s annual Holiday Run and Walk for Health. This year, the competition was held virtually and required participants to run or walk and log their own miles during a 12-day period. The top Antioch schools that formed teams and participated in each category were Deer Valley High, Antioch Middle and Carmen Dragon Elementary. Checks were presented to the schools, this week with two done by club members on Thursday, April 15.

The students could recruit whomever they wanted to run for their team and Prospects High School, with one of the smaller teams, recruited some ultra-marathoners and almost beat Deer Valley. Both teams logged over 2,000 miles.

Paul Schorr, who has led the organizing of the event in previous years, said the club has held the competition for the past 43 years. This was their 44th year.

“Katie Young stepped up and coordinated the event, this year,” he shared.

“Close to 600 participants signed up,” Young said. “They logged their miles they walked or ran over a 12-day period. A total of about 15,000 miles were logged. A couple teams recruited ultra-marathoners.”

“And 2,000 miles were from our school,” said Antioch Middle School Principal Lindsay Wisely.

“I think you did a heck of a job coordinating,” she said to Young.

“On behalf of the faculty staff and students we are grateful for the support from the Kiwanis Club,” Wisely stated. “We have a running club on campus and plan to use the funds for equipment and prizes associated with our club.”

During the presentation to Carmen Dragon Elementary, Principal Mark Hemauer said, “we had 31 participants who completed 1,837 miles.”

Asked how he planned to spend the money Hemauer replied, “I’d like to use it for our PE program because it was a physical activity and competition for when the students come back, hopefully fully next year.”

“I really appreciate the Kiwanis Club organizing this, I’ve been a runner in past years. But continuing it this year during the pandemic and having them give back to us is really special,” he added.

Deer Valley teacher Michael Green, the school’s head coach for both the cross country and track teams, received the check on March 31, during the Delta-Antioch Rotary Club meeting.

“The funds will be used to take those same runners who helped us earn that money to multi-school invitational cross-country races,” he said.

“Thank you to the Kiwanis Club for doing these great events and I encourage others to join their club and other service clubs to serve our community,” Green said.

Club President and Antioch Unified School District Board of Trustees Vice President, Dr. Clyde Lewis shared thoughts from both of his positions.

“This is an example of community and schools working together. Our goal as a Kiwanis Club is to engage, encourage and promote collaborative opportunities,” he said. “As a school district this approach mirrors the support and relationship building that we hope to promote in our young leaders.”

 

 

Registration for Summer has begun, Fall registration begins April 26

By Timothy Leong, Public Information Officer, 4CD

Campuses of the Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) – Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College-Pleasant Hill Campus and San Ramon Campus, and Los Medanos College-Pittsburg Campus and the Brentwood Center – will continue offering predominantly online courses and student services for the summer 2021 term, in accordance with Contra Costa County (County) public health and safety guidelines. A limited number of students and staff will be permitted on campus to attend hard-to-convert courses, labs, student services, and special programs by following enhanced health and safety protocols.

4CD is also planning a fall 2021 schedule with significant increases of in-person offerings that maximize student opportunities for safe learning experiences and support. Course offerings will include a balance of in-person classes, hybrid, and fully online. Work also continues on assessing and making improvements to college facilities to ensure a safe learning environment.

“Our faculty, classified professionals, and managers are excited to welcome back our students and offer the quality college experience they have been missing during this pandemic,” said Chancellor Bryan Reece. “Following County public health and safety guidelines, we will be ready to increase the safe delivery of face-to-face quality instruction and support services that many of our students need to be successful.”

Registration for summer 2021 courses begin on April 5 and depends on a student’s priority status. To view what classes may be offered, students should visit their InSite account or the college website of their choice for specific details. Registration for the fall 2021 semester begins on April 26 and will also depend on a student’s priority status.

About 4CD

The Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) is one of the largest multi-college community college districts in California. The 4CD serves a population of 1,019,640 people, and its boundaries encompass all but 48 of the 734-square-mile land area of Contra Costa County. 4CD is home to Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, as well as educational centers in Brentwood and San Ramon. The District headquarters is located in downtown Martinez. For more information visit www.4cd.edu.

 

He will be joined by California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, Contra Costa Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey and UCSF child psychiatry expert Dr. Petra Steinbuchel

Representative Mark DeSaulnier (D, CA-11) announced that he will host a town hall on Tuesday, March 30th from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. PT on the impact of coronavirus on students and getting back to school. The event will be held live on Zoom and on DeSaulnier’s official Facebook page.

DeSaulnier will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss school safety, learning loss, and mental and behavioral health support, including:

• Tony Thurmond, California Superintendent of Public Instruction;
• Lynn Mackey, Contra Costa Superintendent of Schools; and
• Dr. Petra Steinbuchel, Director of the UCSF Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Portal.

This will be the Congressman’s 128th town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress. Contra Costa residents will have an opportunity to submit questions before the event and live during the town hall.

Coronavirus and Education Virtual Town Hall
Tuesday, March 30th
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. PT

This event is open to the public and press.

To RSVP, submit a question, or request special accommodations, visit https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp or call (925) 933-2660.

 

Program qualifies for district to receive state funds for school reopening of over $4.5 million

By Allen Payton

During their meeting on Wed., March 24, 2021 the Antioch School Board approved staff proposals that most district students would continue in distance learning for the remainder of the school year. Specifically, the board approved remaining in distance learning for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year, opening 50+ learning centers across the District for students who would benefit from a classroom environment, providing an in-person learning option for students with disabilities in grades K-5 who attend Special Day Classrooms, and providing an in-person learning option for students with disabilities in the Community Based Instruction program.

The district staff report reads:

“Throughout the pandemic, our core values have remained the same:

To open schools for in-person learning in a manner that is safe, is the least disruptive to families, and provides the most instructional time as possible.

At this time, the majority of parents surveyed would like to continue in distance learning through the end of the school year. However, we also recognize that some families would like their children to be in a school environment. To meet as many of our families’ needs as possible while staying true to the core values stated above, staff is recommending the following:

Remain in distance learning for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year.

Open 50+ learning centers across the District for students who would benefit from a classroom environment.

Provide an in-person learning option for students with disabilities in grades K-5 who attend Special Day Classrooms.

Provide an in-person learning option for students with disabilities in the Community Based Instruction program.”

Superintendent Stephanie Anello said “as you may be aware, we did a survey of parents, last week…it remained steady at 10,000 votes, 60% of parents wanted to remain at distance learning, because of the enormous disruption of dropping off students at 8 am then picking them up at 11 a.m.”

Associate Superintendent of Educational Services, Christine Ibarra spoke of “many hours and sleepless nights” developing the proposed plan.

“The health guidelines are constantly changing,” she continued.

“Many of our schools will have large screen TV’s that will take a picture of groups of students to determine if any has a temperature,” Anello interjected.

“We are grounding our decisions and our recommendation in what our values are,” Ibarra stated. “That’s with the least disruption” to families. “The majority of our parents prefer distance learning at this time.”

Learning Centers

Ibarra shared that each school would have multiple learning centers and the district will reach out to those parents who prefer in-person learning for their students. They will open April 19 for K-6 and on April 26 for grades 7-12.

“Students will be wearing masks at all times,” she continued. “We will be taking temperatures. Appropriate social distancing of desks will be followed.”

Asked how many hours the learning centers will be open, Anello responded, “We still have to negotiate that with the teachers.”

About 50 public comments were then read, which lasted for over two hours, with most from district staff members in favor of Anello’s recommendations.

Board members then gave their input.

Trustee Gary Hack said, “I do have some thoughts to share. One is I trust the current leadership at this district. I trust the employees of the district…who make their best efforts to educate and keep safe those 17,000 students. I trust the surveys and the feedback. Most of the surveys showed 60% to 70%…support distance learning. I don’t believe COVID-19 is history, yet.”

Trustee Antonio Hernandez asked, “does this plan qualify for some of the money set aside for school districts to open?”

“I have run this plan by school services of California and we have been assured it does…because we are bringing students back,” said Assistant Superintendent Jessica Romeo. “The money begins when school returns on April 1st. There are nine days of instruction that we will not receive. So, we will receive about 91% of the $5 million.”

“Do we know what summer and fall will look like?” he asked.

“We’ve been taking this pandemic one day at a time,” Anello responded. “We expect to have programs during the summer. Whether or not they’ll be in person we’ll have to decide.”

Hernandez asked about the survey responses. Anello said they were in line with attendance, but slightly over the average for the parents of Hispanic and white students and below average for Black students.

“We’re not going to be able to make everyone happy,” he said. “Everyone’s going to be upset no matter what the decision.”

“To say I’ve been thinking about this, a lot would be an understatement,” Board President Ellie Householder said. “No matter what we do there are going to be some people who will be unhappy. This has been very difficult. This is probably the most consequential vote that I will make in my life here at the school district. I’ve really made myself sick…worrying about this. I’m the first person to be critical of some of our programming overall. I say that to say I think this is the best plan we could have come up with. The hybrid model just wouldn’t work for folks. We live in a commuter city. It is a difficult plan. It is truly tailored to our community. I thought it was cool how you came up with this model with learning centers.”

“It all came back to keeping people safe…and asking for out of the box thinking,” Anello responded. “It was a group effort. Credit has to go to Ms. Romeo for proposing the idea.”

“We tried to come up with a plan that would meet the needs of the 60%,” Romeo then said.

“The playbook is out the window,” Householder said, referring to the plan as “in between distance learning and a hybrid model.”

“This is an elegant solution to a messy problem,” she concluded.

Trustee Dr. Clyde Lewis spoke next thanking the staff. “Making these decisions that have the impact on our students, on our community…is not easy. I want to appreciate as a parent the concerns that are still there.”

“The decisions we’re going to make, tonight they’re not easy,” he continued.

“From the plan that we have…the parents who want to stay in distance learning have that option?” Lewis asked.

“The PODS are specifically for

“The learning centers are not. Those are separate. Those are additional,” Anello responded. “They will be in a supervised setting, but they will be logging in with their teachers.”

He then asked about time and hours.

“It will depend on the amount of students at each school,” Romeo responded. “The more learning centers we can open, we will expand as there is a need to expand.”

“For those students who come to class without materials, will the school district be given materials?” Lewis asked.

“Yes,” Ibarra responded.

“I want to highlight. I know there’s going to be some blowback no matter which side we decide to sit on,” he shared. “This is an opportunity if you are unhappy to engage in dialogue to find out how these decisions were made.”

Trustee Mary Rocha asked, “will the learning centers be a lot of age difference?”

“We wouldn’t put high school kids with younger students,” Anello responded.

The number of learning centers at each school will differ based on the interest.

“It depends on the amount of students, is that it?” Rocha asked. “Yes,” Anello said. “It could be that you fill it up with all first graders because that is the interest.”

“At least we’re giving the parents the opportunity which way they want to go,” Rocha stated. “At least we’re given that child the opportunity to get some help with a para-professional.”

“What is happening with the band, the music and choral?” Rocha asked.

“As of Monday, band performances are allowed at sporting events,” Anello responded.

“If you’re going to get mad at somebody don’t get mad at the teachers,” Householder said. “But it’s the board’s decision, tonight. I’ve really felt like part of a team, even though I’m board president, I really feel part of a team.”

“I encourage you, if you have a disagreement engage in dialogue,” Lewis reiterated. “It’s about what’s best for the kiddos.”

Rocha then made a motion to approve the recommendation by the superintendent for the Fourth Quarter learning. Hack seconded the motion and it passed 5-0.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announces $240,000 in grants to address inequities that deepened during pandemic

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced Thursday that the California Department of Education (CDE) has selected 12 recipients of mini grants, totaling more than $240,000, that will fund local efforts across the state to address equity and opportunity gaps through supporting educator and student needs in distance learning, in-person instruction, and hybrid models. The Antioch Unified School District will receive $20,000 of the grant funds.

Since the applications were announced in December 2020 as part of CDE’s ongoing efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic’s continued impact on students, more than 400 schools and districts across California applied for the grants, which are funded by contributions from philanthropic partners. The funds must be used to advance equity and close opportunity and access gaps. The grantees are given discretion to decide how they will address the topic of equity. The list of grantees is at the end of this press release.

“It’s been an unprecedented, unpredictable year for our schools, and California’s educators have been looking for resources and support to ensure that students can still attend class, access a great education, and learn and achieve during the pandemic,” Thurmond said. “Congratulations to these school districts for showing their communities that they’re committed to recognizing and addressing opportunity gaps during the pandemic and providing targeted supports to students and families who have been struggling.”

Issues addressed by the grant funds include transportation, internet connectivity, modifying spaces to serve as family resource centers, one-on-one academic intervention, mentorship for students struggling with distance learning and asynchronous instruction, small group tutoring, home visits, professional development for educators needing assistance with technology, and a variety of other family engagement activities.

Since last spring, the State Superintendent and the CDE have maintained an ongoing and urgent focus on addressing the numerous access and opportunity gaps that impact student learning—gaps that, in many cases, have deepened and become newly exposed during the pandemic. During the past year, the CDE has secured hundreds of thousands of computing devices for students, pressured internet service providers to expand access, bolstered mental health and counseling resources, made it easier for schools to provide meals, and provided guidance and dozens of training opportunities for educators to strengthen distance learning for California’s highest-need students.

As the state continues to battle COVID-19, CDE will continue to support efforts to protect the health and safety of school communities while providing the custom supports needed to ensure learning continues and improves.

The Equity Mini Grant recipients and intended uses of funds are:

• Antioch Unified School District: $20,000 to implement home-visit teams to gain engagement from students and provide support to students and families that are currently not showing high engagement/attendance.
• Castaic High School: $20,000 to pay for district buses to pick up students from a central location in an underserved neighborhood.
• Colusa Unified School District: $20,000 for transitioning the current Colusa High School Library to serve as a student and parent resource center.
• Imperial Unified School District: $20,000 to support internet connectivity for our students who live in an underserved area.
• Kern High School District: $20,000 to provide one-to-one academic intervention and support for students with unique needs who have failed multiple classes.
• Lakeside Union School District: $20,000 to provide mentor support to students who continue to struggle with engagement in asynchronous instruction.
• Riverside County Special Education: $20,000 to purchase book bags, books (English/Spanish sets), educational materials/manipulatives for arts and crafts, and staff mileage reimbursement for the home delivery of weekly literacy bags.
• San Ysidro School District: $20,000 to provide support services to students and families to address the academic and technological needs of students and families.
• Sundale Union Elementary School District: $20,000 to strengthen family connection with parents by having students on campus in small cohorts during non-school days/intercessions.
• Tehachapi Unified School District: $21,352.32 to provide additional opportunities for credit recovery for seniors who are at risk of not graduating.
• Twin Rivers Unified School District: $20,000 to train and provide support to teachers displaying the highest needs for support during distance learning.
• West Contra Costa Unified School District: $20,000 to expand capacity to provide outreach and mentorship to students by hiring a full-time mentor through the Peacemaker program.